I'm Just Saying

Now I know ....

2009-06-08T06:24:00.000-05:00

why I haven't written more.

I'm Just Saying - who cares!

Bozo Biden to Bosnia

2009-05-20T12:31:00.001-05:00

After Bozo Biden's latest gaffe he was shipped off to Bosnia and away for microphones. It seems the entire world now knows the previously classified location of the Vice Presidential secure bunker facility. Not that he's essential to this or any other government but some day there may be a Vice President that would actually need a secure location. Alas it's not the first time poor Joe has stuck his foot in it though. Here are a few of my favorite ones;

"Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs."

"A man who will be the next President of the United States — Barack America!"

"...the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened."

"Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya."

"Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me."

He'd have a hard time finding any argument on that last one.

I'm Just Saying - and they made fun of Bush!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2009-05-16T13:10:00.008-05:00

This is a video of Tommy Emmanuel playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Acostic guitar truly at it's best IMHO.

I'm Just Saying - WOW!

Mother's Day

2009-05-09T11:28:00.003-05:00

What better tribute to Mother's Day than to show what it is all about. Love!

Mother loved children, not just her own, but ALL children. Exhibiting the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon she was the consummate mother. Giving birth does not make you a Mother, it only gives you the opportunity. It's what you do with that opportunity that will make a difference in generations of children to follow. There is no substitute for a Mother.

I'm Just Saying - miss YOU Mother!

Union bailout

2009-05-05T06:13:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately this is another fine example of the chosen one’s administration paying back his supporters at the expense of taxpayers. Not content with wasting billions of dollars on an industry that caused it’s on problems, the government has given control of Chrysler to the group most responsible for its downfall – the UAW. Meanwhile those that invested in the company by purchasing what was supposed to be secured bonds are left holding the bag. As if that were not bad enough the government is attacking the investors that don’t support bending over and grabbing their ankles by calling them vultures and threatening court action against them. Of course their bullying tactics have been successful against companies that saddled up to the federal teat because of the intense political pressure.

For more disgusting details see the article at Bloomberg;

I'm Just Saying - guess it's more change you can believe it!

Moonbats

2009-04-09T13:00:00.003-05:00

The chosen one's new moonbat science adviser told us yesterday that global warming is SO bad that they are discussing "radical" technologies to cool Earth's air. John Holden said they are considering geoengineering the climate, including one option that includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays.

He compared global warming to being "in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in the fog." That coincidentally is also how I feel about the chosen one's administration.

Why don't we just get a big umbrella?

I'm Just Saying - where did he find this moonbat?

Government Money

2009-04-02T06:56:00.006-05:00

Don't let your mouth write no check that your tail can't cash.

Seeing that quote by the famous statesman Ellas Otha Bates, better know as Bo Diddley, reminded me of the current situation that the chosen one has thrust upon American. Apparently his experience as a community organizer didn't exactly prepare him for the task at hand. Indeed the emperor has no clothes.

Here are some other great quotes about the government and our money from politicians, comedians, playwrights, and philosophers.

The taxpayer: that's someone who works for the federal government, but doesn't have to take a civil service examination. - Ronald Reagan

We have the best government that money can buy. - Mark Twain

Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. - P. J. O'Rourke

When a government takes over a people’s economic life it becomes absolute, and when it has become absolute it destroys the arts, the minds, the liberties and the meaning of the people it governs. - Maxwell Anderson

The trade of the petty usurer is hated with most reason: it makes a profit from currency itself, instead of making it from the process which currency was meant to serve. Their common characteristic is obviously their sordid avarice. - Aristotle

Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision. - Dick Armey

We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. - Sir Winston Churchill

When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic. - Benjamin Franklin

The government has no money that it didn't confiscate from the taxpayer. - Steve Stephens (OK, I might not have been the first with that thought but it's true)

I'm Just Saying - a fool and his money are soon parted.

Letterman - Synonyms

2009-04-01T12:45:00.001-05:00

Letterman - vitriolic, caustic, acerbic, acrid, bitter, disagreeable, unpleasant, destructive, asshole. Those are just the clean synonyms to describe what used to be a comedian!

The Late Show should be renamed "The View at Night" because Letterman's rants remind me of all the hen pecking coming from its daytime model, the completely vacuous "The View." I stopped watching him a few years ago when he quit being a comic and became the attack dog for the DNC. However, I was flipping channels last night and saw Bill O'Reilly was on his show. It didn't take long to remember why I'd stopped watching. As soon as O'Reilly sat down Letterman said "I think of you as a goon." It didn't improve appreciably from there.

I was never particularly fond of O'Reilly but this kind of treatment by a supposed late night comic is unconscionable. Maybe vilifying conservatives is entertainment to the shallow minded liberal audience that applauds every rant but I think he's pretty much outlived his success.

If you'd like to see for yourself go to the video excerpt at CBS.

I'm Just Saying - it's time to put Dave out to pasture.

GIVE TAKE Act

2009-03-24T06:37:00.001-05:00

The recently announced Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, known as the GIVE Act, is anything but. It turns out the Volunteerism part was just a joke. It would have been more appropriately name the Taking Away Kids Emancipation Act. Quoting from Fox News

...the bill creates a "Congressional Commission on Civic Service."
The bipartisan commission will be tasked with exploring a number of topics, including "whether a workable, fair and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the nation."

I believe this has been done before and everyone got to wear those cute little matching brown shirts and they were called the Hitler Jugend Bund der deutschen Arbeiterjugend, (Hitler Youth League of German Worker Youth)!

As Yogi Berra once said, "This is like deja vu all over again."
No one should be surprised by this since the chosen one said during a Colorado Springs rally,

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded,"

I'm Just Saying - repeat after me Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil!

Shot Heard Around....

2009-03-20T06:42:00.001-05:00

Well it may not be heard around the world but I think the unions got the message loud and clear. Wal-Mart fired about 2 billion rounds across the bow of the union's Employee Free Choice Act.

"...incentives for hourly workers include $933.6 million in bonuses that the retailer is handing out Thursday. There is another $788.8 million in profit sharing and 401(k) contributions, and hundreds of millions of dollars in merchandise discounts and contributions to the employees' stock purchase plan."

Only union thugs could name something that takes away the rights of employees the Employee Free Choice Act.

This insidious act requires the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union after a mere 51% of the employees have been coerced into signing union cards without further elections. Then the company would be forced into finding arbitration lasting 2 years for any unsettled employee disagreements. That along with stiffer penalties for unfair labor practices committed by employers but not unions should pretty much guarantee the failing labor unions a revitalized strong hold on employers. In other words unions would be Free to harass the holdouts since they know who has not signed up.

I hope Wal-Mart's employees can see this union shake down for what it is.

I'm Just Saying - sometimes Free isn't!

Are you happy?

2009-03-19T06:18:00.001-05:00

If so, you haven't read the news lately. Here are a couple of items that should get the blood boiling this morning.

On AIG;

“People are rightly outraged about these particular bonuses,” Obama said. “But just as outrageous is the culture that these bonuses are a symptom of that have existed for far too long.” (source)

My outrage is directed at the bozos that gave AIG the money in the first place, not the company living up to it's contractual obligations. However, the second half of his quote is even more disturbing. The chosen one thinks the government should step in and prevent companies from rewarding it's employees at ANY time. Apparently in his world everyone makes the same amount of money regardless of their job performance. That sounds a lot more like socialism than capitalism!

Next on the piss you off for today agenda;
Obama May Use Legislative Ploy to Jam Through Health, Tax Bills

The administration and congressional Democrats are debating whether to use a parliamentary procedure called reconciliation to advance some of the biggest items on the president’s agenda. The move would allow Democrats to approve plans to raise taxes by $1 trillion, create a cap-and-trade system to rein in greenhouse-gas emissions, and overhaul health care without a single Republican vote.

Don't worry about a constitutional system of checks and balances that has been in place for over 200 years. Screw everyone that doesn't agree, we'll enact this into law and fund it whether you like it or not.

I'm Just Saying - you still happy?

Third ...Pick Withdraws

2009-03-13T06:59:00.000-05:00

In honor of;

Democratic sources say that H. Rodgin Cohen, the leading candidate for Deputy Treasury Secretary, has withdrawn from consideration.

It's the third withdrawal of a top Treasury Department staff pick in less than a week.

I proudly present;

I'm Just Saying - yep, another one bites the dust!

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

2009-03-09T09:43:00.003-05:00

The economy is going to hell in a hand basket and the chosen one decides it's time to give more money that we don't have to embryonic stem cell research. Brilliant! Boy that should get the economy going.

His advisers say the "move is a clear signal that science — not political ideology — will guide the administration." Exactly what part of science would that be? There have been NO instances of embryonic stem cell research achieving ANYTHING other than spending money. We are told that the "long-promised move will allow a rush of research aimed at one day better treating, if not curing, ailments from diabetes to paralysis." What, they can't cure global warming or my craving for chocolate chip cookies?

There was never a ban on the research only a restriction using taxpayer money. If these yahoos believed so strongly that this is the answer why didn't they put their own money into this scientific boondoggle? Even if this should be a topic for debate you would think the administration would be trying to figure out why their policies have driven the Dow Jones below 6700 for the first time since 1997 instead of pulling us out of the recession.

I'm Just Saying - looks like he's just paying off his supporters here.

StickItToUs Plan Pork

2009-03-06T12:33:00.003-06:00

The Heritage Foundation has identified 9,287 earmarks in the chosen one's new StickItToUs ~~Plan~~ Pork. There is so much pork in this package that some Muslim countries are not even allowing their citizens to read about it!

Looking through the sample listing you will find Senator Hutchison listed once for the $2 million handout for the LBJ library. Senator Cornyn is not listed in this sample. Former presidential wannabe John Kerry is well represented in the sample with $29 million worth of porcine demands. But they are such good causes like the GoGirlGo Women's Sports Foundation in Boston. Here's his sample swine serving;

$5,813,000 Edward Kennedy Institute for the Senate, Boston
$22,000,000 JFK Presidential Library
$300,000 GoGirlGo! Boston, MA
$190,000 Berkshire Theater Festival, Stockbridge, MA
$238,000 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
$300,000 Shakespeare and Company

I'm Just Saying - if it smells like a pig - it's PORK.

Barney

2009-03-06T05:59:00.003-06:00

No, not that one. I'm talking about the fagot one that put Fannie May and Freddie Mac into bankruptcy by insisting they loan money to people that could not afford to pay it back. Then he feigned indignity when the Bush administration asked for oversight. It was announced today that this twit has the audacity to "seek criminal and civil penalties on financial actors that helped cause the current crisis". This is some what akin to the Menendez Brothers seeking justice for their parents murderers!

I'm Just Saying - better get used to this kind of Audacity!

Roller Coaster?

2009-03-04T12:45:00.002-06:00

Harry Smith told us this morning that the stock market has been "like a roller coaster" lately. Maybe he's never been on a roller coaster because the the ones I've ridden had to go UP before they went DOWN!

Since the chosen one has "fixed" all of our problems the market has been more like an anchor thrown into the Mariana Trench.

I'm Just Saying - try as they might, there's some things you can't spin.

It goes without saying

2009-03-03T13:03:00.000-06:00

If "it goes without saying" long enough, eventually no one will hear it. I think that we should speak up more about our beliefs instead of just assuming everyone else understands. You know the old saying about what the word assume does - it makes an ass out of u and me! The silent majority has been silent far too long with the idea that if someone wants our opinion they will ask for it. Well it's time to share you opinion whether it's asked for or not. It seems that opinions of the majority no longer matter and the vocal minority is busy making sure that it never will.

This mini rant was brought on by Thomas Sowell's excellent column today - Is Talk Cheap? He actually mentions Hitler and Obama in the same column - of my the sky is falling! Of course I guess it helps that he is a black man otherwise cries of RACISM would be heard through out the land. As it is, he's simply dismissed by the left as a crazy old Uncle Tom!

I'm Just Saying - speak out, before it's too late!

More?

2009-03-02T06:36:00.001-06:00

"Please sir, may I have more?" Who says life doesn't imitate the arts? But instead of saying "More! You want more?", the chosen one's administration is saying "Sure, just pull up to the trough and help yourself to someone else's money!"

Not satisfied with pissing away $150,000,000,000 on AIG they are now ready to give them another $30,000,000,000 that doesn't exist.

"It grew too vast to be supported by its institutions, communications, education, resources and legal structure." Sound familar? No, it's not a quote about the USA, it was made in reference to the Roman Empire. But at the current rate of disintegration it's only a matter of time.

I'm Just Saying - at least Oliver knew there were limitations!

Another WTF moment

2009-02-24T17:27:00.002-06:00

I read the Houston Chronicle headline this morning and thought surely it must be April 1st and it was just a joke. In their infinite wisdom the Houston City Council and Mayor proposed to use $444,000 to pay off credit card debt to artificially inflate credit ratings of people that would not otherwise qualify to get a home loan. This is money leftover from a $1.5 million appropriation the city made for emergency home and roof repairs after Hurricane Ike.

WOW, where to begin? I guess you could start with that fact that it would be financial fraud to try and falsify credit ratings for the purpose of obtaining a loan. In the second place, isn't this why the financial institutions are in so much trouble now, because they loaned money to people that couldn't afford to pay it back? And last but not least, apparently the Mayor & Friends haven't had the opportunity to get out of their offices lately. Otherwise they would still see the hundreds if not thousands of blue roof tarps covering up hurricane damage. Here's a novel idea - how about using the money for the purpose it was appropriated for?

I'm Just Saying - WTF were these people thinking?

UPDATE - After news of this tax payer scam reached national attention the mayor has now decided to remove this from tomorrow's city council agenda. Duh!

Atlas Shrugged Redux

2009-01-12T13:30:00.001-06:00

There's a great article from Stephen Moore at WSJ Online today titled 'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years describing how Ayn Ryand's work of fiction turned out to be prophesy. Even some of her ridiculously insane ideas are looking like real life now. Here's an excerpt from the article summarizing her book;

....the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises -- that in most cases they themselves created -- by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.

I'm Just Saying - doesn't that sound familiar?

Gasoline Prices

2009-01-07T06:01:00.000-06:00

Here's more news you're not likely to hear from the MSM regarding the current gasoline prices. It's from the Washington Times - Price dip adjusts Bush's gas legacy. It points out that the current price of $1.33 (adjusted for inflation) is lower than it was when President Bush took office in 2001.

"I wonder if the same people who blamed the president for the increase in prices will now credit him with the reduction in prices. It's only fair,"...

Yeah right, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one!

If he was the all powerful evil one that the left made him out to be I wonder why he didn't do this before the election. You would have thought the right wing conspiracy could have salvaged the election by saving the day for everyone reducing their "pain at the pump". We could have avoided this whole recession thing if George had just done this sooner.

Just this morning I got an email that gave me the highlights of the chosen one's Energy Plan. The very first one listed is "Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump".

I'm Just Saying - what pain is that?

Anonymous but Brilliant

2008-12-19T06:05:00.001-06:00

This was in my inbox this morning from the United States Concealed Carry Association and it sums up why some of us carry a gun.

Why I Carry a Gun

I don't carry a gun to kill people. I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don't carry a gun to scare people. I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.

I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid. I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I'm evil. I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I hate the government. I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don't carry a gun because I'm angry. I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.

I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone. I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.

I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy. I carry a gun because, when I die and go to Heaven, I want to be a cowboy.

I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man. I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.

I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate. I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.

I don't carry a gun because I love it. I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

Anonymous but Brilliant

I'm Just Saying - that's why I carry a gun!

The 12 Days Of Global Warming

2008-12-17T12:02:00.001-06:00

A masterful job that will generate more hate from the ever so tolerant left.

I'm Just Saying - it brings tears to my eyes, as I laugh!

The Stethoscope

2008-12-17T06:46:00.003-06:00

A friend sent me a link to this cool video hosted on YouTube;

I'm Just Saying - He is the reason for the season!

Stop "Helping"

2008-12-16T13:14:00.001-06:00

If only we could get the government to stop "helping" us maybe we could eliminate deficit spending. According to Senator Tom Coburn's, (R-OK), latest report highlighting the worst waste of 2008. You can find his press release and a link to the full report here. If you get nauseous easily you probably don't won't to read the whole thing but here are a few gems;

Examples of waste in 2008 include:

• $188,000 for Lobster Institute in Maine, home of the “LobsterCam”
• $1 million for bike paths on Louisiana levees while levees await basic repairs
• $2.4 million for a retractable shade canopy at a park in West Virginia
• $24.6 million for the National Park Service’s 100th year birthday in 2016 - 8 years early
• $3.2 million on a blimp the Pentagon does not want
• $367,000 wasted by a Texas school board on items like an inflatable alligator and under-the-sea waterslide, among other things
• $5 million for a bridge to a zoo parking lot in St. Louis
• $9,000 for a non-functioning airplane-shaped gas station in Tennessee
• $300,000 for specialty potatoes for high-end restaurants

I'm Just Saying - how much more of this "help" do we have to pay for?

Talk about busy work

2008-12-15T17:32:00.000-06:00

Can you imagine the paper work and man power involved in complying with these UAW rules & regulations? You can see how the auto makers got in trouble, no one wanted to read all this crap!

Picture and following quote from LaborPains.org

Ever wondered what a UAW contract looks like? Here is all 22 pounds of it (in this case, Ford’s 2,215 page 2007 master contract; Coke can is for scale and because I was thirsty).

I’ll tell you this much, those 2,215 pages don’t include much regarding efficiency and competitiveness. What you’ll find are hundreds of rules, regulations, and letters of understanding that have hamstrung the auto companies for years.

I'm Just Saying - they're sinking under the weight of these contracts!

Brilliant

2008-12-12T11:45:00.000-06:00

To my surprise, CBS had an economist on this morning that was not parroting the usual Democrat party line. I think they were expecting him to bash the Republicans for killing the auto bail out but he told them the real problem. The auto makers have given in to the unions so much that they are no longer competitive.

He gave the example of making lemonade. You can't continue to pay $1.25 for the ingredients to make it if you can only sell it for $1.00.

I'm Just Saying - maybe they need to leave out a little sugar!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:48:00.003-06:00

This morning in the Upper Room devotional I read that Thanksgiving Day is not considered a religious holiday. Maybe it is because most religions don't have special services to commemorate the day but what else could it be? Who else should you give thanks to other than the one that is responsible for our good fortune? I believe the saddest part of Thanksgiving is that it serves as a reminder of how little we remember to give thanks for everything that we have been blessed with. In a time when we tend to dwell on what we don't have I pray that I will stop to remember my many blessings more often.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

I'm Just Saying - Thank GOD!

More on the Elephant

2008-11-19T13:03:00.002-06:00

Excellent point on the Democrats and UAW by Mark Alexander in EDITORIAL EXEGESIS over at the Patriot Post.

....there's a system in place for dealing with crises such as this, even at the scale of massive corporations. It's called bankruptcy, and it should not be written off as unthinkable. Filing for Chapter 11 protection under bankruptcy law is the normal way a company stays in business when facing an unmanageable financial situation. It keeps creditors at bay while the company reorganizes under court supervision and settles its debts. In recent years it has served as a refuge for major airlines (Delta and United) which, you may notice, continued to fly while in Chapter 11 and, post-bankruptcy, fly today. Bankruptcy protection also frees companies from union contracts. Could this be why it seems to have been taken off the table as an option, at least among Democrats? We can only surmise, but it's clear that a bankruptcy process would be rough going for the United Auto Workers." --

I'm Just Saying - these elephants aren't talking peanuts!

The Elephant in the Room

2008-11-18T06:10:00.007-06:00

No, not me. I'm talking about the union complicity in the bankruptcy of the big three automobile makers. Not satisfied with the $25,000,000,000 of OUR money to "retool their factories so they can make more fuel-efficient vehicles" they are now demanding that we throw ANOTHER $25,000,000,000 into their coffers.

Schemes such as the UAW program, called the Jobs Bank at GM have contribitued to their downward spiral. This program provided nearly full pay for laid-off workers while they waited for new jobs. Great work if you can not get it.

High labour costs are part of the reason for the problems. "UAW members' generous pay and benefits have gained them a reputation as the aristocracy of the US labour movement. Much of GM's debt was taken on in the early part of the decade to finance its blue-collar pension plan."

They have also refused to allow the auto industry any flexibility to change and have been with the manufactures in a fight against moves to increase mileage on newer models.

Union production workers are paid around $27 an hour (skilled tradespeople make evenmore), but non union workers do the same job for $14 an hour.

I will admit the auto executives are not totally blameless in this mess as George Will points out this morning.

Nothing," said a General Motors spokesman last week, "has changed relative to the GM board's support for the GM management team during this historically difficult economic period for the U.S. auto industry.

Boy that pretty much sums up the reasons for not helping them out.

Now the Democrats insist that we help them out!!!!

I'm Just Saying - they made their own bed.

Never Mind

2008-11-17T06:23:00.001-06:00

Surprise, surprise, another debunking of the global warming hysteria is getting very little press. Last week it was reported "On Monday, Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), which is run by Al Gore's chief scientific ally, Dr James Hansen, and is one of four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures, announced that last month was the hottest October on record."

During this same time period Tibet suffered its worst snowstorm ever and a previously reported "hot spot" in the Arctic actually shows sea-ice recovering 30% faster that last year. Oops!

Well it turns out the "alarming" statics were not from October but were just a duplicate of September's numbers.

from The world has never seen such freezing heat

I'm Just Saying - people still believe this crap?

Not Gun Control?

2008-11-13T06:12:00.001-06:00

He may have duped the masses into believing his rhetoric about being against gun control while campaigning but the chosen one states it quite clearly on his web site. Scroll down to CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.

Remember that loophole they are talking about will prevent you from selling a gun in your collection to another individual. This type of buying and selling is quite common at gun shows and used by many as a hobby to enable trying different types of guns at a reasonable cost.

I'm Just Saying - and you wonder why I bought an AR-15?

VETERANS DAY

2008-11-11T11:00:00.000-06:00

From todays Wall Street online journal

Soldiers of the Great War

The guns fell silent 90 years ago today. Between the time that the terms of the Armistice were signed in the predawn hours of November 11, 1918 and the moment it came into effect at 11 o'clock that morning, the Western Front registered as many as 11,000 casualties, including a conservatively estimated 320 Americans killed and 3,200 wounded.

I'm Just Saying - thank a veteran today!

Diversity

2008-11-11T06:23:00.000-06:00

Today President elect "The Chosen One" has announced that his new cabinet will be diverse and include both Sunnis and Shiites.

I'm Just Saying - get your keffiyeh ready!

Time to come together

2008-11-07T06:49:00.002-06:00

A phrase you always hear from the Democrats which means it is time for the Republicans to do what they are told. Funny how they never wanted to "get along" with the Republicans but it's somehow divisive when the Democrats are in charge. I can feel the love already coming from Harry Reid from this article;

Reid was leaning toward removing Lieberman as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. .... "While I understand that Sen. Lieberman has voted with Democrats a majority of the time, his comments and actions have raised serious concerns among many in our caucus," Reid said.

Come together?

I'm Just Saying - Yeah, right!

update - or as Ann Coulter would say;
"For now, we have a new president-elect. In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president."

Treatment of Bush

2008-11-06T06:34:00.001-06:00

Here's an excerpt from a column that points out how the pundits have trashed not only George Bush but more importantly the office of the President.
"The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace".
What must our enemies be thinking?
By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.

I'm Just Saying - it certainly is a disgrace.

Election Postmortem

2008-11-05T12:45:00.002-06:00

Taking a look at the wide spread defeat of Republicans in last night's election I see two major reasons - the Republicans and the culpability of the media.

First off the Republicans have strayed far from the conservative principles embodied by the 1994 Republican Revolution that put them in power. What started as a "change" (there's that word again) to doing business as usual has ended in them trying to outdo the unfettered spending spree of the Democrats. Pork barrel spending used to be a trait associated with the Democrats repaying their campaign supporters but has evolved into meaning any politician. So the rhetorical question begging to be asked here is "What happened to the Reagan Republicans?" Well, short of saying they went over to the dark side (no pun intended) they became part of the "where's mine?" crowd and added to the problem instead of trying to solve it.

On top of that the Northeast chose what most conservatives would call a moderate to be the Republican candidate. McCain was not my first choice to be the Republican nominee, in fact not even in the top 3, but due to the skewed primary election process we didn't have a real choice in the matter.

Then we've got the media. OK, before you liberals get your panties in a wad, I'm speaking of the unprecedented advertising money as well as the brown nosed (again, no pun intended) "reporting" of the campaign events and other media denigrating.

Some say that this election was bought with money from dubious sources and while that remains unproven I do believe the election was bought. Although initially agreeing with McCain to the limits of public funding after finding out how popular their candidate was the Democrats shunned public funding. While McCain was limited to $84M in September the chosen one raised $150M that same month. When you outspend your opponent by 3 to 1 in the closing months of the election what else could you call it. As of the last reporting the O campaign has spent nearly $650M.

The second aspect of media complicity helps explain how we got to this point. Never before in history has there been such visceral reaction by the media to a President as there has been toward Bush. This toward a man that inherited an America weakened by the lax policies of his predecessor. They did there best to help the chosen one tie McCain to Bush ever chance they got. It was reported by an independent source that only 14% of stories in which McCain was a significant factor were positive, while 57% were negative and 36% of stories about Obama were positive, and only 29% have been negative. What bias?

Last but not least of the media blame goes to the Hollywood crowd together with late night talk shows, since the mindless throng look to them for guidance. They have moved from making fun of the accent or physical traits of the President to showing contempt and hatred for the man and his policies. It is one thing to make fun of a man because of the way he pronounces nuclear but entirely another matter to dismiss his administration and policies as idiotic. And isn't it odd that those doing the criticizing and calling Bush stupid could not have even been admitted to Yale or Harvard Business School.

Election Update
In Fort Bend County the unexpired term for State Senator in District 17 was filled by a Democrat but there were 2 Democrats and 4 Republicans running. Also Democrat Dora "the explorer" Olivo held onto her District 27 seat. On the brighter side, Texas did manage to reelect Republican Senator John Cornyn and help keep the Democrats from obtaining the 60 votes needed for a filibuster proof majority. In my district Democrat Congressman Nick Lampson was ousted in favor of Republican Pete Olson (who I was less than thrilled with).

I'm Just Saying - It could have been worse!

Great Quote

2008-11-05T06:55:00.001-06:00

Check back later for the election postmortem, but meanwhile this is the best quote I've seen in a while coming from Neal Boortz.

Rhetorical ability is so very important in politics. Obama has it, McCain does not. Smooth talkers win at single's bars and in politics .. often with similar outcomes for the listener.

I'm Just Saying - I agree, we're screwed!

Change

2008-11-02T20:27:00.004-06:00

I'm Just Saying - NObama!

Epiphany

2008-10-31T05:55:00.002-05:00

Yeah, that's an awfully big word for such a small mind but it does seem appropriate. While driving home from work yesterday I heard something on the radio that made the light bulb glow brightly.

A caller was saying that he was voting for the chosen one because he couldn't afford health insurance and had to take his daughter into a walk up clinic. Said he was working two jobs and barely making ends meet. After further talking it comes out he's an ex con working two part time jobs. So I'm thinking poor guy we can't let his daughter suffer, after all he's trying. Well not exactly. Turns out he's driving a brand new tricked out Chevy to deliver pizzas. That's when it happened!

EPIPHANY

They aren't the idiots, WE are.

Why do we continue to pay for the bad decisions of others? When is enough finally enough? Have we finally reached the point that Benjamin Franklin was talking about when he said “When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”

I'm Just Saying - perhaps we have.

It's not who you know, or is it?

2008-10-30T13:13:00.004-05:00

Here's a great column from Melanie Philips, The Spectator ( UK ) from 10/14/08 titled Pinch Yourself. In it she points out the significance of the chosen one's association with radicals.

You have to pinch yourself – a Marxisant radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently it’s considered impolite to say so.

I'm Just Saying - is Ms Philips part of the right-wing conspiracy too?

Idiots

2008-10-30T12:40:00.002-05:00

Yesterday my son and I were discussing politics and both came to the conclusion that Obama will win because his supporters are fricking idiots. But don't take my word for it here's the proof.

A couple of weeks ago I heard clips from a Howard Stern (yeah, I'm not a fan either) radio show where they interviewed voters (listen here) in Harlem. Considering the chosen one has the support of 99.9% (not Thomas Sowell) of the blacks I really wasn't too surprised that they didn't have a clue about the position of their candidate.

But John Stossel interviewed a variety of young people and came to the conclusion that some people have A Duty Not To Vote?

I'm not saying that the government should impose a litmus test. God forbid. I just want clueless people to find something else to do on Nov. 4.

Watch the video here

When asked questions about Roe vs Wade, the number of senators, or even the number of states in the US many could not answer. He showed others pictures of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that they didn't know, yet almost everyone recognized television's Judge Judy.

I'm Just Saying - these are the people electing our president!

Gun Control

2008-10-30T05:27:00.003-05:00

A great column from John Stossel;

England's ban didn't magically cause all British handguns to disappear. Officials estimate that more than 250,000 illegal weapons are still in circulation in the country. Without the fear of retaliation from victims who might be packing heat, criminals in possession of these weapons now have a much easier job, and the incidence of gun-related crime has risen. (nearly doubled)

Read the rest of it here Gun Control Isn't Crime Control

I'm Just Saying - Gun Control means double tap center mass.

Reading Assignment

2008-10-28T12:57:00.007-05:00

Today you need to read two guys who get paid to do this. They've each done a great job trying to enlighten the masses. I'm afraid the people that need this won't read it though.

First Neal Boortz has some great comments on some Democrats plan to take over your 401k in HOLD ON TO YOUR PENSIONS WHILE YOU'RE AT IT (PART 2);

....lawmakers like George Miller are in an "increasingly privileged category" because they are guaranteed retirement benefits thanks to you, the tax payers.......George Miller, for example, if he were to retire tomorrow would take away an annual pension of about $122,000. In other words, "lawmakers' retirement benefits are out of step with most ordinary Americans." And at a time when Joe Biden wants to take away the pensions of CEOs, Congress has made no effort to revisit its own retirement plan.

Then from Thomas Sowell Obama and "The Left" He tells us the importance of Obama's associations.

Some people who see the fraud in what Obama is saying are amazed that others do not. But Obama knows what con men have long known, that their job is not to convince skeptics but to enable the gullible to continue to believe what they want to believe. He does that very well.

I'm Just Saying -

Up Your Poll

2008-10-24T14:58:00.005-05:00

Which poll do I believe? None!

It was announced yesterday that;
(A) either the presidential race was a dead heat
OR
(B) Obama leads by 12%.

So I looked up the main pollsters and found the following;
Obama 44, McCain 43 (AP)
McCain 50, Obama 48 (Rasmussen)
Obama 51, McCain 44 (Gallup)
Obama 48, McCain 34 (Riley)
Obama 51, McCain 39 (CBS)

Then with further searching I found the following list of various polls showing Obama winning by 2-13% or McCain winning by 1-12%;
Obama McCain
49%..........40%
45%..........46%
50%..........46%
51%..........47%
48%..........46%
54%..........44%
47%..........45%
42%..........54%
51%..........38%
52%..........41%
44%..........52%
51%..........46%
53%..........44%
51%..........39%
42%..........53%

Who's going to win?

I'm Just Saying - you sure can't tell by the polls.

It Can't Happen Here?

2008-10-23T17:30:00.000-05:00

I read a piece online that pointed out that Argentine president, Cristina Kirchner, has just announced that she is going to nationalize all private pensions in Argentina. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal -

"Since then (2001) it has imposed price controls, defaulted on its debt, seized dollar bank accounts, devalued the currency, nationalized businesses and tried to set confiscatory tax rates with the aim of making society more 'fair."

So I'm thinking - well that's South America, that can't happen here. Then today I read this headline - House Democrats Contemplate Abolishing 401(k) Tax Breaks. It states that there is a plan where -

"all workers would receive a $600 annual inflation-adjusted subsidy from the U.S. government but would be required to invest 5 percent of their pay into a guaranteed retirement account administered by the Social Security Administration. The money in turn would be invested in special government bonds that would pay 3 percent a year, adjusted for inflation.
The current system of providing tax breaks on 401(k) contributions and earnings would be eliminated."

It would amount to a tax increase on workers making more than $75,000--considerably less than the $250,000 Barack Obama has said would be his tax-hike cutoff. Also you would only be able to pass along to your heirs half of your 401(k), with the other half going to the government one would assume.

And you thought your 401(k) was doing bad now.

I'm Just Saying - Wait until the government takes it over!

Universal Lawn Care

2008-10-15T05:43:00.002-05:00

This would be really funny if it didn't point out the absurdity of today's politics.
Here's a new column for Mike Adams - National Lawn Care: An Immigration Solution.

Excerpt;

In the 2008 presidential campaign and Congressional campaigns all across the country, affordable, universal lawn care for every single American must not be a question of whether. It must be a question of how. Lawn care is not a privilege. It is a right. And the existence of global warning does nothing more than to highlight this serious moral issue.

I'm Just Saying - where does it end?

The First Rule ....

2008-10-14T12:45:00.000-05:00

Here's some of my favorite quotes;

“Remember the first rule of gunfighting... "have a gun." Jeff Cooper

"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Jeff Cooper

“You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.” Al Capone

“Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” Mae West

"Life is Precious. Ammunition is cheap. Be generous. Shoot 'em to the ground." Gabe Suarez

"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." Sigmund Freud

"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms." Adolf Hitler

"A woman who demands further gun control legislation is like a chicken who roots for Colonel Sanders." Larry Elder

“A Canadian is sort of like an American, but without the gun” Anonymous

"To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them." George Mason

"A free people ought to be armed." George Washington

"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose leaders are afraid to trust them with arms." James Madison

"Arms in the hands of citizens may be used at individual discretion in private self defense." John Adams

"...arms...discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. ...Horrid mischief would ensue were (the law-abiding) deprived the use of them." Thomas Paine

I'm Just Saying - I believe these guys knew what they were talking about!

...and the answer is...

2008-10-08T12:35:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of Carnac the Magnificent, the answer to Thomas Sowell's excellent column Do Facts Matter? is a resounding NO.

I believe that even if you had indisputable video of the shooting, the murder weapon, and gun shot residue on his hands, the chosen one would get a free pass by his supporters. (was going to say AND the media but that would be redundant). It would of course be George Bush's fault because he didn't ban hand guns. That is one thing we have all learned from the Democrats - you are not responsible for your actions.

Just as they are now avoiding any responsibility for the current financial mess they got us into. I did not watch the entire debate last night because it just didn't make any difference to me. It was not going to change the way I vote and would only serve to further aggravate as the few minutes I did watch. The piece I saw showed the Democrat messiah actually blaming George Bush for the lack of regulation that led to the Wall Street meltdown.

Perhaps the chosen one was too busy getting the community organized to listen to the leaders of his own party tell us that Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac were just fine and did not need any oversight. After all, those poor people without jobs or any other means of support should be approved for loans because the need a place to live.

They are so far out of touch with reality that they think taxing the "rich" guy will have no effect on the average worker. Who in the hell do they think employs the average worker? Certainly not their faithful band of morons standing in line for handouts! The majority of small businesses that employ anyone makes over his magic $250,000 a year rich guy classification. After they pay 100% of their own social security and 50% of their employees plus any insurance or other benefits, he wants them to pay additional tax on top of the state and federal income and other taxes they already pay.

The REALLY troubling part of all this is the next election will determine the president for the next eight years barring some catastrophic event. The economy will be getting back on track in four years and you know how they're going to spin it! But you know the Republicans don't have anyone to blame but themselves. They fell into the same tax and spend, let us get our pork politics of the Democrats.

As for McCain
I'm Just Saying - stick a fork in him!

Have You Forgotten?

2008-09-11T06:14:00.002-05:00

This was flagrantly and proudly plagiarized from my daughter's blog site.

I'm Just Saying - have you?

Utopia

2008-09-10T05:57:00.002-05:00

Democrats would have us believe that if we elect their messiah the whole world will unite in harmony and love as all the stars align while we drink a Coke. There will be no unemployment, no hunger, no pain, no hurricanes, no hot weather. We'll all hold hands, sing Kumbah Yah, and stand around the world communal camp fire. On second thought quench that fire it would be polluting the planet, depleting the rain forest and removing the sacred owls breeding grounds etc. etc. These people need to wake up and smell the coffee - or would you actually need coffee in their Utopian village, but I digress.

I can't even begin to do justice punching holes in their biosphere of goodness but can point out some potential panacea problems. (Hey, I couldn't resist the alliteration.) But I can think of a couple of things that would at least slow down the progress towards that beautiful sunset.

They may find this difficult to believe but there are actually some people in this world that don't like us. In fact you might even say some groups hate us so much they would be willing to fly airplanes into tall buildings and strap on suicide vests to show us how much they care. Do the Democrats really think these people will all of a sudden want to play nice and not run with scissors?

However the main difficulty with Utopia involves money and all you have to do is follow the money trail to see the problem. Of course the trail ends with productive people that don't think the government should be the answer. These people believe if you need or want something you should have to work for it instead of sitting around waiting for the government to give it to you. I realize this presents a dilemma for the Democrats but they assure us that only the "rich" will have to pay.

Somehow they fail to see the simple economic relationship between the "rich" and those working for the "rich." If you continue to rob Peter to pay Paul it becomes problematic at some point in time. If there is no incentive to achieve eventually Peter will refuse to produce and join Paul in waiting for the hand outs.

I'm Just Saying - now you know why socialism doesn't work.

Numbers Don't Lie

2008-09-08T18:38:00.003-05:00

Talk about hypocrites. While the Democrat Party is busy espousing that they are THE party of change their voting record does not back them up. They are not fighting the established Washington in crowd they ARE the Washington in crowd.

The Democrats in the Senate have consistently voted with their majority party more than the Republicans. You have to go down the list 33 members (32 Democrats and 1 Independent) before you find a Republican that voted with his party as much as those above him. In fact of those on the top list 20 voting against their own party there are 17 Republicans and only 3 Democrats.

Comparing Presidential candidates their is even a larger disparity. The Democrats chosen one has voted with his party 96% (#12) of the time. An astonishing number from someone that is purporting change. His running mate has done an even better job voting with his party coming in at 96.6% and number 8 on the list, considerable higher than their opponent.

George Bush's supposed lap dog has voted with the Republican Party 88.3% of time making him number 64th on the list. It is quite evident that there is a lot more "reaching across the aisle" coming from the right than the left.

You don't have to believe me, you can check for yourself at The Washington Post.

I'm Just Saying - are the Democrats going to CHANGE they way they vote?

Irony

2008-09-05T12:37:00.001-05:00

Why aren't all the feminist praising the Republican choice for VP? You would think they would be proud to have a woman in position to be one heart beat away. Instead they have adopted the arrogance of their chosen one and say 'leave this to the professionals - don't try this at home' little lady.

They want to know how she could possibly raise kids and have a job (like they do). These wild eyed hairy legged feminist claim that you can only do this if WE say you can. And of course they will never say that to a conservative woman because she doesn't fit their mold.

Is it the fact they she didn't have to except infidelity from her husband as Hillary did in order to remain in politics? Also I find it odd their support never wavered for Bill Clinton when he was cheating on Hillary - their idol. The only reason Bill would ever put any woman on a pedestal would be to look up her dress. On the one hand they are saying "We are women hear us roar" but on the other, by accepting Bill's behaviour, they acknowledge that Hillary would have been a nobody ambulance chaser had she not rode into Washington on Bill's coattails of political success.

I'm Just Saying - add the feminist to the list of hypocrites.

You've gotta dance...

2008-09-04T12:55:00.005-05:00

I've been reading the political pundits that are saying McCain's "maverick pick" was Joe Lieberman not Sarah Palin. The choice was made just to placate the conservative base. I can live with that, especially since at least one of them should be a conservative. I like Lieberman and think he would have been a great choice for vice president - for the Democrat Party. In fact an Obamah-Lieberman ticket would have been harder to defeat that the current pairing. But can you imagine the cacophony of silence from the Republican base come election day had McCain picked Lieberman?

I'm Just Saying - maybe like Darrell Royal he thought "I'm going to dance with the one who brung me."

The Speech

2008-09-04T06:38:00.003-05:00

Well if you missed Palin's speech last night and was wondering how she did, she was fantastic. Not only is she "clean" and "articulate" (traits Biden found attractive in Obamah) she owned the stage. She showed that the chosen one is not the only one that can deliver a speech. But there was more than rhetoric and empty feel good statements of "hope and change" in the talk. Finally we have a Republican that is talking about doing something about the problems we are facing instead of on collecting more money and power for Washington D.C. to dole out. In fact she did such a good job that this morning on CBS (yes, I'm not supposed to watch MSM) they felt it necessary to get a rebuttal from "Average" Joe Biden.

Even though it's long you should read the entire speech which can be found at the NPR website. Here are some excerpts that will make you want to read more;

“It’s easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform, not even in the state Senate”

“Since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves, I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”

“What exactly is our opponent’s plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he’s done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make the government bigger and take more of your money.”

I'm Just Saying - this lady has them on the run!

Distraction?

2008-09-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

Again the MSM just doesn't get it. Another "journalist" this morning was questioning the Palin distraction but failed to acknowledge the root cause of the distraction - the MSM. He claimed so much time is spent on Palin's problems the Republicans have not had a chance to talk about the real problems such as the economy. Perhaps he missed Fred's speech;

“Now our opponents tell you not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they are not going to tax your family. No, they’re just going to tax ‘businesses.’ So unless you buy something from a ‘business,’ like groceries or clothes or gasoline... or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small ‘business,’ don’t worry... it’s not going to affect you. They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the ‘other’ side of the bucket! That’s their idea of tax reform.” —Fred Thompson

Although this was my favorite from Fred;

"Democrats present a history-making nominee for president. History-making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee ever to run for president"

I'm Just Saying - it's hard to separate the Democrats from the MSM!

The Right Word

2008-09-02T12:31:00.000-05:00

Assholes! Yes, that's the right word. I know you're thinking the old red neck shouldn't watch the main stream media but sometimes I can't help it. Unlike many rednecks I did make it further than third grade and have a vocabulary of at least a fifth grader so I could come up with another word but none that so aptly describes these people. These are the same people that would genuflect as they passed before the chosen one last week. The same press core that gave Joe Bidden a pass a pass for being a 3 time loser and questioning the readiness of Obamah now question McCain's pick as running mate. How could they possibly question Palin's qualifications and overlook the elephant in the room? They ask how could he make this choice with all the "controversy" surrounding her daughters pregnancy. Someone should point out that the press are the ones creating this "controversy!" A "journalist" last night criticized the Republican party for politicizing the hurricane by cutting back on the schedule and not having a 'widely unpopular President and Vice President' attend the convention while McCain is feigning interest in the storm. Then this morning ABC did an expose on some of the lobbyist parties that went on Monday night after McCain requested it be toned down. They pointed out how outrageously expensive these affairs were and just proved that it was 'business as usual' for the Republicans. Maybe I missed their expose of the lobbyist parties in Denver last week, you think?

I'm Just Saying - they're a bunch of assholes!

First Book of Democrat

2008-09-01T21:32:00.002-05:00

(going around the internet)

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 Paths Of Unemployment.

Yea, Though I Walk Through 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 Room.

But I Am Glad I Am an American,
I Am Glad That I Am Free.
But I Wish I Was A Dog
And Obama Was A Tree.

I'm Just Saying - he's not the choosen one for me!

The Little Red Hen 2008

2008-08-28T12:30:00.001-05:00

Found on the Internet without author credit;

Once upon a time, on a farm in Virginia , there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat.

She called all of her Democrat neighbors together and said, ‘If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?’

‘Not I,’ said the cow.

‘Not I,’ said the duck.

‘Not I,’ said the pig.

‘Not I,’ said the goose.

‘Then I will do it by myself,’ said the little red hen, and so she did. The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

‘Who will help me reap my wheat?’ asked the little red hen.

‘Not I,’ said the duck.

‘Out of my classification,’ said the pig.

I ‘d lose my seniority,’ said the cow.

‘I’d lose my unemployment compensation,’ said the goose.

‘Then I will do it by myself,’ said the little red hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread.

‘Who will help me bake the bread?’ asked the little red hen.

‘That would be overtime for me,’ said the cow.

‘I’d lose my welfare benefits,’ said the duck.

‘I’m a dropout and never learned how,’ said the pig.

‘If I’m to be the only helper, that’s discrimination,’ said the goose.

‘Then I will do it by myself,’ said the little red hen. She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, ‘No, I shall eat all five loaves.’

‘Excess profits!’ cried the cow. (Nancy Pelosi)

‘Capitalist leech!’ screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)

‘I demand equal rights!’ yelled the goose. (Jesse Jackson) the pig just grunted in disdain. (Ted Kennedy)

And they all painted ‘Unfair!’ picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then the Farmer Obama came. He said to the little red hen, ‘You must not be so greedy.’ ‘But I earned the bread,’ said the little red hen.

‘Exactly,’ said Barack the farmer. That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle.’

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, ‘I am grateful, for now I truly understand.’

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the ‘party’ and got her bread free. And all the Democrats smiled. ‘Fairness’ had been established. They made fence around the barnyard stronger.

Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared…so long as there was free bread that ‘the rich’ were paying for.

I'm Just Saying - you better remember to vote!

Emperor Obama?

2008-08-28T12:00:00.001-05:00

In an epic that would have made Cecil B. DeMille envious the Democrats will present their ~~boy~~, (oops can't use that word) anointed one to the world tonight. I'm not sure whether the Greek columns are supposed to represent a return to the Byzantine empire or commemorating the Deep South slave owners mansions. Either way it seems to highlight the Democrats ineptitude in presenting their messiah as a man of the people. It is hard to contain my excitement while waiting to see the coronation of their king with throngs of people at his feet straining to touch the hem of his garment.

Cost for this Democrat debauchery are already projected at $52 million, $16 million of that coming from the federal government (that's us). That does not include the additional $50 million grant also promised by the federal government (again, that's us) for Denver to ensure the Democrats are safe and sound.

I'm Just Saying - is $100,000,000 something the average voter can relate to?

After writing this I found an online post expanding on the subject by Uppity Woman that is well worth reading Emperor Obama’s Stage To Resemble a Greek Temple–In Honor Of Enron Executives.

Obama's Friends

2008-08-27T00:50:00.002-05:00

From this friend and supporter Al-Monsour;

“The Christianity that white people got and the Christianity that black people got was not the same”

Then there's Bill Ayers, another one of Obama's "respectable" and "mainstream" friends shown in this ad called Know Enough? “I don't regret setting bombs; I feel we didn't do enough,” Ayers told the New York Times in 2001.

And of course Ayers wife and fellow Weather Underground leader Bernadine Dohrn. Asked about bombings Dohrn said, "We only did a couple, and they were carefully done."

Floyd Mayweather, a boxer with a history of violence against women who has been convicted of both battery and domestic abuse, was one of the main hosts of a "African Americans for Obama" event...

His buddy Tony Rezko now in style with an orange jump suit courtsey of the federal government was refered to as a "sum landlord" by Hillary Clinton. He hosted a fundraiser at his Wilmette mansion for Obama when he was campaigning for the U.S. Senate.

Father Michael Pfleger's endorsement was removed from the Obama campaign site after his "entitlement" ranting aimed at Hillary.

And of course the party would not be complete without the raving mad lunatic the good Reverand Jeremiah Wright

I'm Just Saying - with friends like these....

Where is Edwards?

2008-08-26T12:31:00.002-05:00

It's like looking for Waldo. John Edwards is pretty hard to find this week. Someone said they thought he had something contagious and had to stay away from the convention. As one fond of alliteration I might even say he is the pariah of the party!

I feel quite certain if could have nothing to do with his extramarital affair. I too was surprised to learn of his infidelity - not because it had occurred but that it happened with a woman, but I digress. Surely that would not disqualify him from speaking at the Democrat National Convention. You would think they would have given him a place of honor next to their party idol and moral kingpin - Teddy Kennedy (D(runk)-MA). I guess since his tryst did not end in death like his mentor's he is just another sleazy politician having an affair.

I'm Just Saying - that's some pretty lofty standards to adhere to!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2008-08-26T07:00:00.002-05:00

So, I was talking to this little girl, Catherine, the daughter of some friends, and she said she wanted to be President some day.

Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there with us - and I asked Catherine - 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?'

Catherine replied - 'I would give houses to all the homeless people.'

'Wow - what a worthy goal you have there, Catherine.' I told her, 'You don't have to wait until you're President to do that, you can come over to my house and clean up all the dog poop in my back yard and I will pay you $5 dollars. Then we can go over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $5 dollars to use for a new house.'

Catherine (who was about 4) thought that over for a second, while her mom looked at me seething, and Catherine replied, 'why doesn't the homeless guy come over and clean up the dog poop and you can just pay him the $5 dollars?'

And I said, Welcome to the Republican Party.

I'm Just Saying - if only adults could grasp this concept.

Good Shot!

2008-08-04T06:15:00.001-05:00

The man yelled for the robber to stop. When the robber turned around and pointed his gun, the man fired at him, hitting him in the head, Lantz said.

Don't believe I would have gone for the head shot but it certainly was effective in this case!

Bank customer shoots gunman after robbery

I'm Just Saying - That's what I call gun control.

Yes Ma'am

2008-08-02T11:08:00.003-05:00

I guess it's generational thing but I miss hearing "yes sir" or "yes ma'am" when out in public. I caught myself saying yes ma'am to the lady at the library this morning without even thinking and it set me off wondering whatever happened to this small courtesy. Although such customs were usually for those that were our senior as I age that line is becoming a little fuzzy and it just comes out when talking to almost anyone. For the most part it seems that kids today have to be on the same level as adults and even call them by their first name. Of course this was unheard of when I was growing up and was totally unacceptable behaviour which would be meet with at least a good "talking to." My children were also raised to show respect for their elders and I'm sure they will pass along those traits to their children. If fact my daughter already is by teaching her boys to say sir and ma'am as will my son when his daughter gets old enough as well. If not, I feel confident that her grandmother will personally intervene to assure it. :)

I'm Just Saying - Thank You Ma'am

Chicken in Every Pot - Part II

2008-08-01T18:13:00.004-05:00

Obama proposes $1,000 energy rebates for consumers

..."Obama had earlier said the rebates should be part of a larger tax relief package. But now he says the slumping economy demands they be put in place immediately."...

No need to bother with that silly voting thing, after all the chosen one has spoken and we must obey his decree! Hey, but that's OK because he is taking money away from the big evil oil companies.

Someone said this guy used to be a senator so you'd think that if he really believes this crap he would write a new law. But then again he apparently is not familiar with the process since he has never done it before. Of course the real reason that it won't be proposed as law is because he would be too embarrassed when it went down in flames.

I'm Just Saying - his utopian rhetoric has no end.

Demonomic deja vu

2008-08-01T12:21:00.002-05:00

As you know my post have been nonexistent for the past few days and will remain so for a while but after reading this I wanted to let everyone know about it. As usual Alexander has done an excellent job. Here's an excerpt then you can click on the link below to read the entire column.

.......

While one may correctly argue that the majority of elected Republicans do not justly honor the conservative principles set forth in the Republican Party Platform, the majority of Democrats certainly march in lockstep behind their Leftist despots, and their electoral lemmings are close behind. (As George Bernard Shaw once noted, “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.”)

......
Demonomic deja vu
By Mark Alexander

I'm Just Saying - The Republicans are far from perfect but look at your options!

The World is Flat Update

2008-07-24T17:30:00.002-05:00

Just spotted this article today from our friends down under. It was this scientist's job to prove that carbon emissions have caused global warming. Well guess what? After six years he came to the conclusion that it doesn't.

So we know for sure that carbon emissions are not a significant cause of the global warming.
..there are no observations by anyone that implicate carbon emissions as a significant cause of the recent global warming.
The satellites that measure the world's temperature all say that the warming trend ended in 2001.
..the past six global warmings over the past half a million years, the temperature rises occurred on average 800 years before the accompanying rise in atmospheric carbon.
The world has spent $50 billion on global warming since 1990, and we have not found any actual evidence that carbon emissions cause global warming. Evidence consists of observations made by someone at some time that supports the idea that carbon emissions cause global warming. Computer models and theoretical calculations are not evidence, they are just theory.

Read the entire article No smoking hot spot

I'm Just Saying - do you believe me yet?

Magical Mystery Tour

2008-07-24T13:00:00.002-05:00

Did you know that another two senators are accompanying the great one on his ~~campaign fund raising~~, uh, I mean "fact finding" trip around the world? I guess he needed someone to carry his luggage. Anyone who thinks that this tax paid boondoggle is anything other than him advancing his political agenda has already drank the Kool-Aid. Exactly what part of giving campaign speeches qualifies this as fact finding mission? I suppose we are also obliged to pay for all his talking heads that are telling him what to say as well.

Even the AP gets it right with a telling headline Today on the presidential campaign trail as they highlight his ostensibly fact finding tour.

Today was his much anticipated "Ich bein ein beginner" speech in Berlin. He is quoted as saying

"If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope."

To which I say, wouldn't it be nice if that majority wasn't so SILENT? You would think that if they shared that opinion at least ONE of them would speak up!

I'm afraid the barf bag had to come out on this one

"Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands . Let us resolve that all nations -- including my own -- will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere."

gag, gag, gag...........

It was reported that his 27 minute speech was interrupted at least 30 times with applause so I'm anxious to watch the coverage tonight to see how many times they responded with a unified "Seig Heil" after one of his profound statements.

About the only thing the Germans know about B. Hussein Obama is that he is not George W. Bush.

I'm Just Saying - Someone forgot to tell them George is not running.

The World is Flat

2008-07-23T13:15:00.003-05:00

OK, now that it is settled less move on to the next topic "global warming."

If the flat world theory had not been questioned where would we be today? In a real crowded Europe I guess. For some reason we are supposed to take the "experts" opinion from only one side of this debate. As far as the MSM is concerned there isn't even a debate because Mr. "green jeans" has told them what to think. In spite of AlGore's factoid movie the issue has not been scientifically proven. Facts are about the only inconvenient truth left out of this discussion.

British schools have started showing the fictional escapades of Gore's adventures to 11-14 year-old children to indoctrinate them with his leftist mantra. Although they acknowledge several errors in the film it is their belief that the premise is fact and should be taught as such.

There was a time when if something was fact it could be proven and any attempt to prove otherwise would be welcomed. But now any attempt to question the "global warming" hoax and you are automatically labeled a right wing loony and ostracized from society.

I'm Just Saying - just because Chicken Little warns us of impending doom doesn't make it true.

Source of US Oil Imports

2008-07-23T12:57:00.002-05:00

According to the US Department of Energy the U.S. uses about 21 million barrels of oil per day. We import about 58% of it. Contrary to the "blood for oil" crowd the majority of it does not come from the Middle East. Here’s where we get the oil.

Canada 11%
Mexico 11%
Saudi Arabia 9%
Venezuela 8%
Nigeria 7%
Iraq 4%
25 other countries 8%

Most people don't realize that we get more oil from Canada or Mexico than we do from Saudi Arabia. Not that we don't have a vested interest in oil from the Middle East but ....

I'm Just Saying - if we wanted to start a war over oil it would have been a lot cheaper to invade Canada!

I'm Gonna Puke....

2008-07-21T06:33:00.001-05:00

..if I have to watch one more "news" report of the democrat messiah's trip to the Middle East. The reporteretts (including the male ones) are fawning over every word from their saviours lips. Even when his words are identical to what GW has previously stated they take on biblical significance when the great one speaks. Have you ever noticed the camera shots never show his feet? That's because the press are washing his feet and kissing the hem of his garment!

I'm Just Saying - quick, bring me a barf bag.

Illegal?

2008-07-19T09:03:00.007-05:00

Can you spot what's illegal on my H&K 45C?

Yeah, I didn't think so but according to the bleeding hearts in Washington DC my 45C would be violating at least 3 of their newly "revised" D.C. gun laws. The emergency legislation approved this week by the D.C. Council and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) shows a total disregard of the recent Heller vs DC Supreme Court ruling.

1.) My gun is a semi-automatic - the new rules would still ban any "bottom-loading" semi-automatic handgun. Supreme Court ruled that D.C. could not ban handguns.

2.) My gun is loaded - D.C. residents must keep their weapons unloaded and either disassembled or equipped with trigger locks until they are in imminent danger from an attacker in the home. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the "prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense" violates the Second Amendment. Can't you just imagine this scenario as the burglar breaks in "Mr. attacker could you wait just a minute while I reassemble and load my gun?"

3.) My gun has not been tested by local police - every gun submitted for licensing must be test-fired by police ballistics experts. This violates a congressional ban on federal agencies creating any kind of gun owner registry.

Liberals are all to anxious to make up constitutional protection for their favorite cause of the day but eager to trample on real constitutional rights even after affirmed by the Supreme Court.

I'm Just Saying -

White Hole?

2008-07-18T06:22:00.001-05:00

People in the Dallas area are very familiar with the legendary ignorance of Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, but thanks to his recent tirade his stupidity is now known across the nation. In a story worthy of the Onion Price seems to have outdone his previous efforts of idiocy with his recent comments.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.
Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

Price should have remembered George Eliot's words, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

His previous escapades have included;
assaulting a police office,
advocating restitution for slavery,
"parking" his DeLorean by just randomly stopping in a traffic lane downtown and then complain about police harassment when he got a ticket
whitewashing billboards to protest cigarette and alcohol advertising
threatened that blacks would take to the streets with M16s if the city hired a bigoted police chief
indicted on a rape charge but victim asked that the charge be dismissed because she said she feared death threats

I'm Just Saying - looks like the black hole of this story is Price.

PS: For a funny look at where this could lead read Black is Beautiful

...telling niggers...

2008-07-17T07:00:00.005-05:00

These are not my words but those of a prominent black leader.

"Barack...he's talking down to black people...telling niggers how to behave." Jesse "Pimp Daddy" Jackson

Can you imagine the public flogging and hours of "sensitivity" training a white man would be subjected to if he used this word? Well actually you don't have to imagine it since comedian Michael Richards directed the word at a heckler during one of his routines.

We all know how that turned out. Not that I'm taking up for the idiot, his actions were despicable, but if you don't like him don't watch him. In fact I'm still wondering how he can make a living in comedy. Of course it was immediately labeled as HATE SPEECH by Jackson. The good reverend then called for a boycott of the DVD box set of the seventh season of the TV show “Seinfeld”. When told it would hurt Seinfeld more that Richards he said “Yeah, but he is a Jew.”

After Richards apologized for his actions Mr. Jackson was quoted as saying;

"A simple apology does not deal with the depth of the trauma. The first step is to acknowledge you're wrong. The second step is to be contrite about it, not arrogant. The third is, it takes time to regain or earn trust, and that's where the healing process begins."

Jesse also recently called for the firing of Imus for his "nappy head hoes" comment. It didn't make any difference that the same phrase can be found it in the lyrics of a number of hip-hop songs. And of course the race pimps managed to have Imus fired since a white man is not allowed to use the same words.

Now Jackson wants everyone else to “find room in their hearts to forgive him and move on.”

I'm Just Saying - Do you think he's ever heard the word hypocrite?

civilian national security force?

2008-07-17T06:27:00.001-05:00

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."
Barack Hussein Obama from speech in Colorado Springs July 2

Isn't that what the "brown shirts" of Hitler were called?

Just as Powerful - Since we have the most powerful military in the world that would be quite an accomplishment.

Just as Strong - Can't wait to see those tanks coming down my street.

Just as well-funded - This one is going to be a stretch since the military budget for 2007 was just shy of $440,000,000,000. (lots of zeros there)

I try to keep up with the news but must have missed the network coverage of this back to the future speech predictions of Obama. Not only that but the MSM seems to have given him a free pass as they clicked their heels together and shouted "Sieg Heil." In fact they were afraid his words would be misunderstood and helpfully removed them from the published transcript of his speech.

I'm Just Saying - sign me up for one of the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks

Chicken in Every Pot

2008-07-16T17:30:00.001-05:00

I wonder if everyone believed Hoover when he said "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." While he doesn't actually say it, Obama eludes to as much with his nebulous change mantra. If recent polls are any indication of things to come he is quenching the thirst of the Kool-Aid drinkers.

They show Obama garnering 48% of the vote (to McCain's 45%) so his sheep are buying into this fairy tale (read BS). I believe the American public has been spending so much time watching the likes of 'American Idol' and 'Big Brother' they think this election thing is just a game. Perhaps when their matinee idol president lets the radical islamofascists set up a permanent base here in America and begin the slaughter they'll begin to realize that probably wasn't the CHANGE they were looking for.

Our political leaders have gotten us into the mess over the past 15 to 20 years by worrying more about their re-election than America. The hard decisions that should have been made to bring this country under fiscal control were avoided for fear of alienating the voter. We have now instituted a system that rewards complacency and re-elects self serving politicians that tell us what we want to hear instead of what needs to be said. We are not even allowed to vote on term limits since the ones in power control what you vote on.

I'm Just Saying - if this keeps up we won't even have a pot to put the chicken in!

Ball's in your court

2008-07-15T13:00:00.000-05:00

After years of energy policy neglect by multiple administrations one of GW's last dying gasps is "Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court." It does make you wonder what the situation would be now if this much needed action had been taken eight years ago. The US Department of Interior estimates that there are 115 billion (yes, that's a B) barrels of potential oil reserves in these areas.

Now I know that may not seem like much to the Democrats but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that at the current US consumption rate of 20.7 million barrels a day, those reserves would power the US for 5,560 days. As Rush says "for those of you in Rio Linda" that's around 15 years.

I'm not saying we wouldn't have a problem now...

I'm Just Saying - there's a possibility that it would not be as bad.

Confederate Battle Flag

2008-07-14T15:51:00.010-05:00

I see the N2ACP has their panties all in a wad because the Confederate Battle Flag is still being flown in South Carolina. Not happy with having it removed from the Capitol dome there, they are now after the one on Statehouse grounds near the Confederate Soldier Monument.

They probably don't know or care what the 13 stars sewn onto a blue cross even stood for. There is one for each of the 11 states that seceded plus one for both Kentucky and Missouri. Or that the blue background is known as a St. Andrew's cross named after Andrew (one of the first disciples of Christ) who was crucified by the Romans on an x-shaped cross.

Southern heritage and pride are only acceptable if your ancestors were black. Anything else is labeled as divisive and racist. It seems odd that we are asked not to judge the actions of all blacks because the criminal actions of some that were "less fortunate" than their white counter parts but we are judged just for being proud of our Southern roots.

For a group that totals less that %14 of the population they represent some alarming statistics. Black women have nearly 30% of all abortions, black men make up the majority prison population in most states (%77 in Maryland), they have an illegitimacy rate of %70, race pimps like Jesse Jackson keep pushing them into victimization, black hip hop artists spew hate and gang related activities as a badge of honor.

I'm Just Saying - you would think their focus would be on solving current problems instead of worrying about a 147 year old flag.

Oil as T. Boone sees it

2008-07-10T17:30:00.000-05:00

In an editorial interview today in the Chicago Tribune with T. Boone Pickens he points out again how small the US oil companies are in relationship to the international oil market.

To blame Exxon Mobil for the price of gasoline being $4 a gallon is silly. The total amount of oil available every day in the world is 85 million barrels. That's it—that's blood, guts and feathers. That's the whole thing. And Exxon has 2.5 percent of that. That's all they have. Exxon is a peanut as far as owning oil in the global sense of things. Seventy percent of all the oil owned in the world today is owned by state-owned oil companies. The [U.S.] oil companies do not own the oil.

Of course his motives may be less than altruistic in nature since as pointed out in an article (also in the Tribune)

(he) could benefit from a sizable public investment in a nationwide transmission network he proposes for wind power. His Mesa Power has invested $2 billion in a wind farm in the Texas panhandle northeast of Amarillo.

Who says oil companies are not looking at alternate sources of energy? The son of a landman Pickens has been in the oil business since he formed Mesa Petroleum in 1956. It was once known as the largest independent oil company in the world so that should more than qualify him as an oil man. So if he is involved with wind power it just might have something to do with money!

I'm Just Saying - T. Boone sees the future 'Blowing in the Wind'

Learn Spanish?

2008-07-10T12:45:00.000-05:00

Just to shore up his base of leftist American haters messiah Obama had to castigate everyone else for being so stupid. But some one must have turned off his teleprompter here since he seems to be having trouble spiting out a coherent sentence.

Understand this: Instead of worrying about whether … uh … immigrants can learn English […] you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. […] You know, it's embarrassing […] it's embarrassing when, when uh … you … when Europeans come over here. They all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe … and uh and all we's can say is, "Merci beaucoup." Right?

Boy, that sure makes me proud NOT to be a Democrat!

I recently read that the presumably ignorant President Bush speaks better Spanish than the new anointed one. So in addition to his apparent failure to master the English language he can not even keep up with GW.

The biggest embarrassment here should be for the Democrats running this fraud for president.

I'm Just Saying - Maybe he ought to learn English first!

Always By My Side

2008-07-09T20:15:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Always By My Side by Jim Nantz. I've always admired Nantz for his calm professional manner but never knew why until this book. He has the kind of integrity that my dad always believed in and it shows in his work.

He always enjoyed a great relationship with his dad and would often seek his advice and counseling. Of course being the great dad that he was his advice would always involve making Jim analyze the situation to be able to make his own decision.

The official book description is "an unprecedented sixty-three-day stretch from February to April of 2007 when Jim Nantz became the first broadcaster to call the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the Masters." It is much more than that as it tells you how he got there from childhood through college. His interaction with other people from Freddy Couples to George H.W. Bush show how his life was shaped. You'll read stories that will make you laugh out loud and stories that will make you tear up. You'll recognize all the legends of golf, basketball, and football that he was able to meet, interview, and befriend over the years.

Some would say everything has gone right for him and his rise to the top of his profession was easy but when you read his story you see the struggles of dealing with his father's Alzheimer's. Unfortunately his dad was unable to be with him for this trifecta of broadcasting history so his accomplishment was somewhat bittersweet. It is a grim reminder for some of us but should serve as notice to others how quickly time passes.

As for any negatives about the book, it jumps around a lot while telling the story. I recognize that in a biographical tale of more recent events historical facts will put things in proper context but some of the "flash backs" lacked this connection. In my opinion it would be easier to read if events were more chronological.

Even so this book is a great read that I would recommend to anyone even if they are not a big sports fan since it is really more about father/son relationships than sports.

I'm Just Saying - Lots of fun but keep the hanky handy.

Coals to Newcastle

2008-07-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Just as Newcastle on Tyne in England was well known for coal mining and the UK's first coal exporting port, my Mother is world renown (in my mind) for her biscuits.

A very good friend gave us some homemade peach and strawberry jam Saturday night and yesterday morning I was required by law to make biscuits to go with the jams for breakfast. Although it was my first attempt ever to make them from "scratch" they turned out better that expected. Not as good as Mother's of course, but better that the hockey pucks my wife had envisioned. In fact wanting to share my new found talent as gourmet cook I humbly "carried coals to Newcastle" by taking Mother some along with a taste of the new jams.

Her call late yesterday informed me that she had them for supper and praised my culinary attempt bragging about how good they were. Since she has not done a lot of cooking recently there was nothing to compare them to though. Actually I know she would have been gracious and complimentary even if they had turned out like hockey pucks because that's what good Mothers do.

I'm Just Saying - You don't have to make world class biscuits for your Mother to love you!

Discriminate

2008-07-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

discriminate - (from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary )

transitive verb
1 a: to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of
b: distinguish, differentiate
intransitive verb
1 a: to make a distinction
b: to use good judgment

I discriminate. So do you and everyone you know. I start each morning by discriminating which coffee, cereal, milk, toothpaste, clothes, etc, etc, - you get the idea. So when did discriminate become an exclusively racial idiom?

We are told that if you criticize Obama you are racist and discriminating against him because he is black (half actually, but who’s counting.) As you can see in 1b of the intransitive verb (look it up, I did) form of the definition it states “to use good judgment.” Well my good judgment tells me that I should be discriminating against him for his political views even if they are a moving target.

Certainly racial discrimination exist today although not to the degree it did in the past. More prevalent today is what some refer to as "reverse discrimination" better known as affirmative action. Call it what you want but it is still racial discrimination and not in better just because the colors are reversed.

Make your choices based on the distinguishing features, distinctions, or your good judgement - not skin color, I do.

I'm Just Saying - maybe we all should be a little more discriminating.

Flip Flops

2008-07-05T07:45:00.000-05:00

Some of the Kool-Aid drinkers are beginning to choke on campaign promises of their messiah Obama as they are slowly being regurgitated. From the innocuous flag pin to the realization that our troops cannot just leave in the middle of a war his constituents are watching the Democrat party's presumptive nominee “shifting” (i.e. flip-flopping) his positions to more centrist views.

Here are his latest;

On Iraq, Obama said Thursday that his upcoming trip there might lead him to refine his promise to quickly remove U.S. troops from the war.

He now supports broader authority for the government's eavesdropping program and legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in it, after opposing a similar bill last year.

After the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's gun ban, the handgun control proponent said he favors both an individual's right to own a gun as well as government's right to regulate ownership.

Obama became the first major-party candidate to reject public financing for the general election after earlier promises to accept it.

He not only embraced but promised to expand Bush's program to give more anti-poverty grants to religious groups, a split with Democratic orthodoxy.

He objected to the Supreme Court's decision outlawing the death penalty for child rapists, even though he's been anti-capital punishment.

Obama also said "mental distress" should not count as a health exception that would permit a late-term abortion, saying "it has to be a serious physical issue," addressing a matter considered crucial to abortion rights activists.

As Alex Conant, a spokesman for the national Republican Party said, "There appears to be no issue that Barack Obama is not willing to reverse himself on for the sake of political expedience".

I’m Just Saying – How long will it be until he also comes moves right of McCain?

Mowing Grass

2008-07-04T16:03:00.000-05:00

Just got this in an email and had to post it for the 4th.

Here is a soldier in Iraq, stationed in a big sand box. He asked his wife to send him dirt (U.S. soil), fertilizer, and some grass seed so that he can have the sweet aroma and feel the grass grow beneath his feet. When the men of the outfit have a mission that they are going on, they take turns walking through the grass and the American soil -- to bring them good luck.

If you notice, he is even cutting the grass with a pair of a scissors. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't stop and think about the little things that we take for granted.(Note his rifle nearby)

By the way, as I post this it's just after midnight in Baghdad and still 95 degrees.

I'm Just Saying - maybe we ought to be a little more thankful for the freedom that we have.

Disappointment

2008-07-04T11:10:00.000-05:00

I sent the following to my county Republican chairman in reply to his latest update;

Thanks for the update. I'm very concerned about the fate of the Republican party and their abandonment of the conservative movement. I realize that the Northeast press had a lot to do with anointing McCain before the more conservative states had a chance to vote but the rest of our elected representatives are directly responsible for the run-a-way spending spree. To say I’m disappointed with our current Republican leadership would be an extreme understatement.

After being in charge for 10 years they not only failed to rein in spending they expanded government to unbelievable largess. Not only the pork Democrats had approved in the past began to pale by comparison they also expanded government health to include a prescription benefit that is unsustainable and seems to help the pharmaceutical companies more than the intended. I thought ethics violations, big government, moral failures, and cronyism where a platform to the Democrat party, not ours. Pete Olson’s association with Delay and Graham are certainly not going to help in this year’s election especially since on top of everything else we have the Blue Dog Democrat coalition to be concerned with as they appear to be moving right of their Republican opponents.

For example, here in District 22 as you know, we have Nick Lampson that seems to be moving farther right with each newsletter he issues. I assume you subscribe but his latest newsletter can be read here and notice he does not even mention the fact that he is a Democrat. Here are a few excerpts;

(See I've Seen The Enemy)

Our finest Republican representatives couldn’t have said it any better. Between these Blue Dog Democrats and the overwhelming apathy felt by conservative Republicans I’m not looking forward to the next four years.

I'm Just Saying - Is it already too late?

I've Seen The Enemy

2008-07-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

To keep an eye on the “enemy” I signed up for my Congressman’s newsletter. Nick Lampson (D) is part of the conservative Blue Dog Democrat movement started in 1994 to give more conservative members of the party a unified voice. He was a congressman in Texas’s 9th congressional district from 1997 to 2005. He lost his seat after the big controversial redistricting and returned in 2007 after the Tom Delay (1985-2006) debacle. I’ve watched as he increasingly moves to the right on each of the major issues and I believe that he exemplifies the reason that Democrats will probably remain in power after the next election. It seems that more of them are moving to the right of Republicans (including McCain) although that certainly would not be difficult to do.

The entire newsletter can be read here and doesn’t even mention the fact that he is a Democrat. Here are a few excerpts;

I urged them (Democrat leadership) to allow debate and votes on legislation to increase domestic energy production…

I have consistently voted against proposals to raise taxes on domestic energy producers…

I have called on Speaker Pelosi to allow genuine debate and a vote on this issue…

I believe that we will not be able to accomplish anything, let alone lead our nation to energy independence, if we are unable to have a civil debate and are unwilling to allow all options on the table.

I’m Just Saying – do they really mean it or is it just a ploy to get/stay elected?

Perfect Storm

2008-07-02T19:56:00.000-05:00

Looks like it’s shaping up as the “perfect storm” for oil.

Due to the red tape involved it’s been over 30 years since a new refinery has been built in the US. For example, Arizona Clean Fuels, has been trying to build a small refinery outside Yuma for almost 10 years. It took five years just to get air-quality permits. Now they hope to be operational in 2010, 15 years after they started the project.

The more expensive sweet crude is in short supply while currently we have a good supply of sour crude but the sulfur content makes it considerably more expensive to refine.

More taxes are paid to the federal government than oil companies make in profit.

Officials at OPEC and the IEA say oil production is decreasing in 54 of the world’s top 60 oil producing nations.

The US is competing with the nationalized foreign oil companies that control 75% of the world’s oil and we rank 14th in petroleum reserves.

Worldwide increased demand, China has 1.6 billion people and its growing economy is putting more of those people in a position to afford an automobile.

Democrats and a handful of RINO’s (including John McCain) have been blocking any attempt to drill the known reserves in ANRW for years.

And yes the oil speculators do have a part in driving up the price, albeit less than what our legislators imply.

Then on top of that something I never really thought about was the value (devaluing actually) of the dollar as pointed out in this excerpt from an online article;

……….

David T. King, a former chief of the New York Federal Reserve’s Industrial Economies Division, noted on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, when oil prices were at around $120, that last August the dollar price of oil was $70. King points out that the current spike in oil and other commodity prices coincides almost exactly with the Fed’s decision to turn on the monetary spigots to save Wall Street.
The day that the barrel price of oil in dollars was exactly the same as in Euros was in 2002, when both were about 25, King notes. Since then oil has risen by 50 Euros in the past five and a half years. It now stands at 75 Euros, triple what it was then.
But check this out: in the US, the price is over $120, about five times what it was then, King says. He says that the collapse of the dollar exchange rate explains at least half of the increase in the pump price of gas over the past five years.

……………..

I’m Just Saying – When you add it all up I don’t see it getting better anytime soon.

Thank You George

2008-06-26T19:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, GW has not lived up to most conservatives’ expectations including mine, but today he certainly made a difference. Thank You President Bush for Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. Today the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to strike down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns because of the individual gun rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment. This should have been a slam dunk since the Constitutional Amendment is quite clear to most of us but with Justice Kennedy’s recent rulings it became somewhat questionable (what was Reagan thinking?).

With Kennedy’s affinity for European law and his anointing foreigners with America citizen rights in the recent Boumediene vs. Bush case and then the decision favoring the brutal rapist in Kennedy vs. Louisiana , he seems to be losing touch with the Constitution. In addition to Kennedy, unfortunately Republicans gave us 2 of the 4 most liberal justices on the bench. Ford appointed Stevens and G.H.W. Bush gave us Souter but at least 41 made up for it the next year by appointing Clarence Thomas.

As a side note on bias, the CNN gallery of current justices points out that Scalia “worked actively to strike down Roe v. Wade” while Stevens “has championed the individual's right to have an abortion”. They also devote two paragraphs to the sexual harassment charges against Justice Thomas while not bringing up any negative comments on other justices.

What do think the outcome would have been today had Gore or Kerry been elected? Since Justice Stevens turned 88 this year and Ginsburg 75 and is in poor health, it would seem once again to be an extremely important presidential election. While I have doubts about McCain I have no doubt that Obama would appoint someone to the left of Ginsburg (if that is possible).

I’m Just Saying, it could certainly be worse.

Are the Inmates Running the Asylum?

2008-06-20T21:31:00.000-05:00

It’s really difficult to understand the sheer stupidity of our elected officials. Their complete lack of understanding the oil industry is my rant today. This time it’s not just the democrats, some of the republicans are as equally inept.

They have banned offshore drilling except along part of the Gulf Coast and on most of the onshore areas controlled by the government. Instead of opening up these areas to exploration our illustrious lawmakers say that it won’t bring immediate relieve and would take 5 years or more so why bother. I believe this is the same response they gave 10 years ago. Now I don’t work for NASA but seems like some of those areas could be producing oil by now if they had listened then.

Another popular response is to claim it will destroy the beaches and therefore their tourism industry. Well duh, if the tourists can’t afford to get there it’s likely the tourism business is going to be nonexistent. Besides you don’t have to pollute the air and water to drill for oil and gas as can be seen in Norway They utilize CO2 for increased oil production, oil spill detection systems, cleaning of formation water from oil production and the recovery of crude oil vapors to maintain pristine waters and a clean shoreline.

Last but not least is their complaint that there are 68 million areas of undeveloped leases that should be drilled before opening up additional leases. Perhaps this is where their ignorance shines the brightest. If all you had to do was get a lease then setup a drilling rig to pump out the oil you might find them more difficult to come by. Maybe that’s why it’s called exploration. It only starts at the lease sale and last year the US government received $3.7 billion dollars from ONE sale. Do they not have any idea how much time and money it then takes to conduct exploration surveys, obtain permits, obtain a drilling rig, then setup production and transportation systems if they’re lucky enough to be successful?

Oh yeah, and their only solution to the problem is to tax the productive oil companies because of their “obscene wind fall profits”. ExxonMobil, the nation’s largest oil company, profited 10 cents for every dollar it brought in revenue in 2007. That puts its profit margin in the middle of other Fortune 500 companies, including Bank of America (18-percent profit margin) (NYSE: BAC), AT&T (11.8 percent) (NYSE: T) and Proctor & Gamble (13.1 percent). Exactly how is making your product less profitable going to be an incentive for the oil companies to continue with the expense of exploration dollars? Of course this scheme won’t lower your gasoline cost but will only redistribute wealth to those too lazy to work for a living. The only ones making an obscene profit here is the US government. (see chart below) In 2006 their share of 27 oil companies profit was $90 billion plus an addition $10.9 billion in non-income tax AND another $48 billion in excise taxes. The last time we had a wind fall profits tax was when Jimmy (the peanut) Carter was in power and we all know how well that worked out.

And now these idiots want to take over all domestic oil refineries? Well considering how efficient the government run bureaucracies can be, I can hardly wait.

I'm Just Saying, you think gasoline prices are high now?

Five Years and Still Going & Going....

2008-06-16T16:31:00.000-05:00

Just like the little Energizer Bunny, the moron democrats in congress are still going and going and going, five years after we first heard about Valerie Wilson/Plame they're starting yet ANOTHER investigation. (see House committee subpoenas Bush, Cheney FBI interviews)

Besides the fact that the special prosecutor never charged anyone with a crime for "outing" Plame (maybe since it wasn't a crime) they will do anything to further discredit the Bush administration. Perhaps someone should tell them he's not running for president this year! Maybe they don't remember her husband lying to the bipartisan Intelligence Committee about all the pertinent facts including that she was the one that sent him to Africa in the first place or that he actually did find some evidence that Iraq was up to something in Niger.

It seems highly unlikely that she was "covertly" driving in and out of the front gate at CIA headquarters in Langley everyday. Unless she happened to wear disguises while holding down her desk job it would have been pretty easy to see where she worked.

One would think that our congress could direct their attention on a few of the problems we are currently facing but then again it might be better if they just continued to do nothing.

I'm Just Saying, who cares - it's time to move on.

Father's Day - I Remember

2008-06-15T09:52:00.000-05:00

Daddy taking us into town to get a .10 ice cream cone when .10 meant a lot more than I knew

Never really knowing we didn’t have a lot of money, it didn’t seem important

“Helping” add our indoor bathroom

“Helping” tend to a sick calf

Watching the Gillette Friday Night Fights together on our first TV

Him turning the TV around so all the kids could sit out on our lawn and watch TV through the window while catching fireflies.

Having the preacher over for Sunday lunch and the table loaded down with food collapsing to the floor

Walking home from school and stopping at the little store to get a Coke and bag of peanuts to pour into it while telling the store owner to “put it on Daddy’s account”

While outside standing around he’d always wind up squatting down

He always wore short sleeve shirts (most plaid as I recall) even in the dead of winter

His integrity as shown by his favorite saying “If I tell you a hen dips snuff you can look under her wing and find a box”

Our move to Houston in the U-Haul truck while I was sitting on the floor of the truck looking up at his big strong arms

Him catching the preachers grandson testing the “Cats have nine lives” theory on the church’s cooling tower while the cat was on number eight

Riding out to Pasadena to buy his first pick-up truck and his bargaining with the salesman until walking out over what amounted to .25 a week only to be called back in by the sales manger to close the deal.

Him taking us to La Porte to swim at the “beach” and having to get out of the water when a ship passed by

Helping him build a camper for the pick-up out of ply wood, aluminum frame windows, and black paint

His fresh starched khaki pants that Mother had done with metal frames

Sleeping in our camper atop the nice and breezy hill in downtown Hot Springs only to be run off by the park patrol and sent to the state park down in a hot still valley

Leaving Houston during Hurricane Carla because he didn’t think our garage apartment would withstand the storm. It did, but our trip to Navasota was a great experience

Talking him into a two door 1966 Ford Fairlane with a 289 for our family car

Going to work with him at Hermann Hospital and being fascinated with all the gauges and the cooling towers

Watching EVERY Dallas Cowboy football game that was broadcast

Helping him rebuild our ’51 Ford and learning how to work on cars

His first heart attack and visiting him in the hospital while he was still under the oxygen tent

His great love of our daughter even if she did always seem to wind up with a wet diaper when he had on his green pants

Running out of gas about 10 miles from their house late one freezing night and contacting him via CB radio relay and him siphoning enough gas from his truck to get us there

Catching the biggest bass of my life that November and how great it was that he was there to net it

His ride on the back of my motorcycle while holding onto me – by the way it takes further to stop with two people on a motorcycle

Sitting in their backyard while Mother pointed out the cloud that looked like a sycamore tree – it actually was a tree and we laughed while kidding her about it for years

Stopping at the donut shop in Tyler after visiting Mother in the hospital after a knee operation

We named our son after Daddy’s birth surname and he was so proud

The stroke and how although he was never the same, I knew he was still there when I gave him a hug

Being “too busy” on too many occasions to go visit when I should have

The call – when I was informed of his death and the emptiness and pain that followed

I’m Just Saying - Happy Father’s Day, I love you Daddy

Vote for Whitey

2008-06-14T18:13:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading "Black conservatives conflicted on Obama campaign" and to say I am disappointed is a HUGE understatement. Especially by JC Watts;

J.C. Watts, a former Oklahoma congressman who once was part of the GOP House leadership, said he's thinking of voting for Obama. Watts said he's still a Republican, but he criticizes his party for neglecting the black community. Black Republicans, he said, have to concede that while they might not agree with Democrats on issues, at least that party reaches out to them.

Apparently even the black conservatives are not as color blind as they demand of us. The fact that Obama is the most liberal to ever run for the office of president is not relevant. So he wants to raise your taxes, give in to the terrorist, ban handguns and concealed carry permits, increase entitlements, etc, etc, etc - none of that matters. Skin pigmentation is the only qualifier for blacks voting in this election.

I'm Just Saying, using their logic I guess I'll have to vote for McCain because he's white.

War bill helps Iraqis, may ignore Katrina victims

2008-06-08T21:01:00.000-05:00

This is the headline from a news story I saw today at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080608/ap_on_re_us/iraq_katrina_1.

Of course my first thought was duh, why should a war bill NOT ignore Katrina "victims". Last time I checked we weren't at war in Louisiana so why should they be included? Well as it turns out it was just a case of something being added onto another bill because it lacked support to pass on its own merit.

These are the same people that looted big screen televisions in the aftermath of the storm. These are the same people that had ample opportunity to leave the city before flooding and sit around waiting for the water to rise. These are the same people that re-elected the moron of a mayor that sat around with them watching the water rise instead of using transportation readily available to evacuate the city. These are the same people that trashed hotel and motel rooms across the nation as thanks for a free place to stay. These are the same people that refused jobs offered by companies trying to help out.

Exactly how long are we supposed to shell out money to keep these people sitting on their ass? The problem is, most of these people were sitting around sucking on the government teat before the storm and now after two and half years additional money on top of their welfare the milk is beginning to dry up.

I'm Just Saying, it's about time!

What ever happened to...

2008-06-06T18:12:00.000-05:00

What ever happened to the terms biracial or mulatto? They seem equally descriptive of our president elect but all the press refer to him as "our first black" presidential nominee, not our first half white nominee. He even referees to himself as black and how we must come together as one. His black heritage seems to be the defining characteristic that has brought out more black voters than ever before in history.

Exactly how is it that he became so proud of his black heritage? His black father abandoned him when he was two only to be later dumped with his mother's WHITE parents that raised him. The current tuition for the school he attended through high school is $17,000 a year so he wasn't thrown in with white trash.

I'm Just Saying, seems to me he should be more proud of his white heritiage than his black.