Just a note ...

Hello, anyone miss me?? Ah, I thought not - no matter, the blog is just as it's always been, a place to express some thoughts. Goodness, over a year since I posted last ...

Many things have happened since then, both to me, to my family, to the world as a whole. We are approaching another election. Again, for me, it will be a choice of the lessor of the bad guys. Again, I will end up choosing the Republican because the Democrats have some very socialists for their choices.

At this point McCain is the Republican nominee, and I have many issues with him. The real odd turnabout was with the Democrats; a year ago Hillary had a lock on the nomination and now it looks like Obama will win it.

Obama is an odd fellow to my way of looking at it. He reminds me (and I know many of you won't understand this) of the show Steinfeld, which I watched rarely. The reason I watched it rarely was when I did watch it, it was a show about ... nothing. When I pointed this out to the enthusiastic followers of the show, they all exclaimed "Exactly, that's why we like it, it's a show about nothing." (aside from the supposed lives of the characters). Obama reminds me of the Steinfeld show, to me, he is ... nothing. He is this era's answer to the political slogan, 'a chicken in every pot' - Obama is promising all things to all people. He is going to provide jobs, provide housing, provide education, wages, tax cuts (unless you make over $100,000 a year), healthcare, green power - damn, there isn't anything this man hasn't promised. If you asked him for a pony or a cure for cancer it wouldn't surprise me if he promised that too. The problem with all his promises is that he is VERY weak on exactly HOW he is going to do it.

I don't care that Obama is black, I don't care that Hillary is a woman. I'd much rather have a person - black, white, blue, green, male, female, I-don't-care - just a person who can really do the job and has a clue how to make things happen. Okay so I'll admit that I'm asking for too much, but I'm also wise enough to know that Obama flat doesn't have a clue. Unfortunately, so far he hasn't been pushed to having to provide answers, and even when he attempts (and typically fails) to provide some details his supporters don't really hear what he says. You don't believe me? Ask 10 of them how he is planning on providing 'affordable housing'? Not one of them has a clue, but they love him for saying it.

What do you think?

Why It Will Be Tough For Me To Ever (again) Be A Liberal

Again? You ask? Yes, WAY back in my youth, before I had truly tasted what life had to offer, I was a liberal. When I was more concerned with ME instead of the real world - what it held, what it had to offer, what I had to do to make it a better place for my children and others ... back then I held the liberal view point. I've changed as I've grown and experienced the world and the following is just one more example of how I can't quite grasp the liberal mindset (any more).

The following are excerpts from a news story talking about the death by hanging of two of Saddam's cohorts. One was the head of the Revolutionary Court, the other was Saddam's half brother who was the former intelligence chief. Both were found guilty of the murder of 148 Shiite Muslims after a failed assassination attempt on a former leader of a town (the leader of the town was a Saddam buddy). The story was noted not merely because of the hangings (liberals hate those things) but because Saddam's brother had his body and head separated when it happened. The following are excerpts from the story and my thoughts and comments after the excerpt.

After the trap doors opened, al-Bandar could be seen dangling from the rope. Ibrahim's body was lying on the floor, chest down, his severed head yards away. Okay so his head and body separated, so ...? He's dead, he's just as dead as if his body had been 'dangling' - what difference did it make? The results were the same!

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the gallows were built to international standards and in accordance with human rights organizations. Uh, excuse me, what was that again? The human rights organizations have standards for how a gallows is built? News to me, as a construction inspector I wonder if the gallows were inspected - maybe that is where they went wrong. Human rights organization standards, sorry I laughed over that one.

The two men were to have been hanged along with Saddam on Dec. 30, but Iraqi authorities decided to execute Saddam alone on what National Security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie called a "special day." Boy I couldn't agree more with that statement, the day that butcher died was indeed a special day and I saluted it.

As head of Iraq's Mukhabarat intelligence service, Ibrahim was one of the most feared men in Iraq, who had personally supervised torture sessions with electric shocks in Baghdad in the 1980s.

One witness at the Dujail trial said Ibrahim had eaten grapes while the man screamed in agony. Another witness described how he beat her and broke her ribs after she was hung naked from the ceiling by her feet. And this puke is one that liberals and human rights organizations (who's standards were followed to build the gallows) would want to save from death because why??? Death was too good for him, he should have been turned over to some of the folks he tortured and allowed them to do to him what he had done to them; but the liberals would have had a stroke if we allowed that to happen so killing him was the next best thing.

Last week, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani urged the government to delay the executions.

"In my opinion we should wait," Talabani said Wednesday at a news conference with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. "We should examine the situation," he said without elaborating. Glad they didn't listen, in my opinion while the justice is swift, it's not swift enough, I liked the justice of the old West, found guilty and out to the nearest tree. Don't mess around, it just lets liberals stir up nonsense.

Saddam's execution ... showed the former dictator being taunted on the gallows. So? It's not a golf tournament, we don't all have to be quiet while the scene unfolds. Considering what he did to his 'people' this was entirely appropriate.

A lawyer for the two men told The Associated Press recently that they were taken from their cells and told they were going to be hanged on the same day Saddam was executed.

Al-Bandar and Ibrahim were taken back to their prison cells nearly nine hours later, according to Ghazawi.

"Their execution should be commuted under such circumstances because of the psychological pain they endured as they waited to hang," he said. Hahahahaha - THEY endured psychological pain? What about the psychological pain they inflicted on an entire country over many decades; let's add in the physical pain they also inflicted on thousands and thousands of their own countrymen and again I say death came too quickly for these two.

After Saddam's execution but before Ibrahim and al-Bandar's, Human Rights Watch released a report calling the speedy trial and subsequent hanging of Saddam proof of the new Iraqi government's disregard for human rights. Uh, excuse me? You want to see two buffoons who had NO regard for human rights, it would be these two warts on the face of humanity. Of course to the liberal mindset, they were lives - no, they were scum and deserved a death worse than the one they got.

"The tribunal repeatedly showed its disregard for the fundamental due process rights of all of the defendants," said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program. No dude, they tried and executed them according to their own laws, you don't like it then I suggest you don't live there. Please let me know what country you rule, one can obviously be the worst kind of human being and still know that not even a slap on the wrist will be forth coming.

Yup, reading about the liberals whining over the death of these two slime bags only makes me more sure that it will be a very cold day when I agree with this kind of shallow thinking.

Am I wrong?? Let me know why?

Democrats with a New Direction For America

I lifted this from another source, it makes one think.

The Democrats new promise: “A New Direction For America”.

The stock market is at a new all-time high and America’s 401K’s are back.
A new direction from there means what?

Unemployment is at 25 year lows.
A new direction from there means what?

Oil prices are plummeting.
A new direction from there means what?

Taxes are at 20 year lows.
A new direction from there means what?

Federal tax revenues are at all-time highs.
A new direction from there means what?

The Federal deficit is down almost 50%, just as predicted over last year.
A new direction from there means what?

Home valuations are up 200% over the past 3.5 years.
A new direction from there means what?

Inflation is in check, hovering at 20 year lows.
A new direction from there means what?

Not a single terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11/01.
A new direction from there means what?

Osama bin Laden is living under a rock in a dark cave, having not surfaced in years, if he’s alive at all, while 95% of Al Queda’s top dogs are either dead or in custody, cooperating with US Intel.
A new direction from there means what?

Several major terrorist attacks already thwarted by US and British Intel, including the recent planned attack involving 10 Jumbo Jets being exploded in mid-air over major US cities in order to celebrate the anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks.
A new direction from there means what?

Just as President Bush foretold us on a number of occasions, Iraq was to be made “ground zero” for the war on terrorism — and just as President Bush said they would, terrorist cells from all over the region are arriving from the shadows of their hiding places and flooding into Iraq in order to get their faces blown off by US Marines rather than boarding planes and heading to the United States to wage war on us here.
A new direction from there means what?

Now let me see, do I have this right? I can expect:
The economy to go South;
Illegals to go North;
Taxes to go Up;
Employment to go Down;
Terrorism to come In;
Tax breaks to go Out;
Social Security to go away;
Health Care to go the same way gas prices have gone.

But what the heck, I can gain comfort by knowing that Nancy P, Hillary C, John K, Teddy K, Howard D, Harry R and Obama have worked hard to create a comprehensive National Security Plan, Health Care Plan, Immigration Reform Plan, Gay Rights Plan, Same Sex Marriage Plan, Abortion On Demand Plan, Tolerance of Everyone and Everything Plan, How to Return all Troops to the U.S. in The Next Six Months Plan, A Get Tough Plan, adapted from the French Plan by the same name and a How Everyone Can Become as Wealthy as We Are Plan.

Please share this good news….

Living Wage <======> Family Wage

Okay, so I've been remiss about posting - I've been busy, the country has been going to hell in a hand basket and the democrats have taken power which means we'll now be running to hell rather than just skipping towards it. However, I keep hearing the above term(s) and it's driving me nuts.

For quite some time I heard the term - "Living Wage". I never was able to get someone to tell me exactly how much that was. I mean to me, a living wage pretty much varied, doesn't it? From what I've seen it costs less to live in Baker Oregon than it does to live in New York City. So I never could get anyone to tell me what the term meant in the form of dollars (for ANY area). Do you know?

Recently "Living Wage" seems to have been replaced by the term - "Family Wage". Again, a rather undefined term and one that is even more confusing to me. If a living wage varied from location to location then certainly a "Family Wage" would too. Even more confusing, when we talk "Family Wage" are we saying that a person's wages need to go up just because they have one more kid? Welfare use to work like that ... and it didn't work! Yes, I feel for kids who are born into families where the 'family' doesn't bring home enough money, but there are programs out there to help those folks. Help them not only with rent and heat assistance but also help them get training and education to get jobs that pay more. It doesn't make sense to give them more money for the same work merely because they had another kid.

Which brings us to the increase in minimum wage. Does anyone really think that raising the minimum wage is going to help the poor? If you do please go back and take economics 101 over again. All raising the minimum wage is going to do is make a few jobs go away and it will also raise the price of ... everything. If I have a business and I have to pay my workers more money the only way I see to do that will be by raising the prices of my goods. If I rent to you and any of my costs go up (property taxes, garbage, water, whatever I provide) I WILL raise your rent. It's a simple pass-through of costs. Raise the minimum wage, my costs (as a business owner) go up, my prices go up and your 'raise' isn't buying you any more than it did than before the 'raise'.

As my wife said - "Minimum wage never was suppose to be a wage you could live on. It was suppose to be a wage that a you could get started in the work world with. It never was intended to be a wage or a job that you make a career out of."

You don't want to live on minimum wage - then do something about it. DON'T go home and sit on the couch and watch TV, instead take some night college courses that will add to the skills that you can offer an employer and get a better job. DON'T waste your time sitting in bars drinking and partying, shift your present work to happen at night while you do something like go to a beauty school or business school during the day so you can get a better job.

But hey, this is merely common sense and practical knowledge speaking - what do I know.

Do you disagree? Then point out how and why I'm mistaken - go ahead, make my day.

New Generation getting screwed - or maybe it's just me.

A non-political moment here, a moment to pause and reflect, because that is what happened last night.

My wife and I have recently learned how to C&W dance, we're not real good at it yet, but anyone who dances any kind of steps will tell you that it's all about floor time. Unfortunately places with dance floors (at least in the area) are become more and more scarce; when you try to add the constrant of it being C&W, the choice narrows further - but we went in search of one anyway.

The following is a rant that goes in many directions but I'll try to link it in the end.

We look up C&W dance places on the internet - turns out that several of them have shutdown (plus I think the site info was old). We come across one and went there, it's half a step above a tavern but not quite as nice. Add to that the fact that rather than C&W music, they are raving about how they are the best 'blues' place in town. Now I like the blues, especially when I'm in the mood for it, but NOT when I'm looking for C&W. Maybe it's changed hands or venues (although they still had signs talking about C&W) but we were disappointed and left.

We went looking for a place that I'd passed on some of my jobs, never been in the place but it had the right name, well, sort of. We passed the place and didn't even bother to get out of the truck - it appeared to be a C&W version of Coyota Ugly. Had I been by myself and wanting to oogle some women, it was probably the place to be, but it certainly didn't look like a place to go dancing.

Well, we were also hungry (we'd hoped and planned to eat at the dance place prior to dancing), however, since we hadn't found a place to dance (yet) we opted to get dinner. There was a place that I had heard lots of radio commercials about, and again, I'd passed it going to jobs, so I thought it might be the place to try. A new restaurant and it was being hyped as posh, great, etc. etc. etc.

Time to go into my restaurant rant - we've tried the 'new' popular places (and yes, I'm going to name names here) - we've tried PJ Changs, Macaroni Grill and last night a place called Spice (I know the first two are chains, I think the last one is homegrown). I've found all the above places to be SO pretentious that it almost made my skin crawl. PJ and Macaroni Grill greets you with the waiter trying to impress you with a sauce or spread or something that they prepare at your table. Sorry, a combination of grease (olive oil) and spices (italian seasoning) mixed together in front of me really doesn't impress me. To me, a restaurant is really about the food; my bad I guess as the above two establishments sure didn't come through on those counts. PJ was ... okay, but for what I was served I thought the price a bit high and the portions marginal. I can name off dozens of chinese places that beat the pants off PJ and for a lot less money; yet the lines to get in to PJ's are extreme. Macaroni Grill was even worse, we got poor service, my daughter ordered spaghetti and meatballs, it's hard to screw up spaghetti and meatballs, but they did. It tasted like they had dumped a bottle of fennel into both the meatballs and the sauce, it was ... terrible. I ordered a 3 cheese lasagna, it tasted very similar to what you get when you buy and fix lean cuisine; and unfortunately I'm familiar with that particular product. My wife ordered some chicken dish and between the chicken being semi-cold/frozen in the middle and having a weak, watered down tomato sauce dribbled over the top of it ... well, it left MUCH to be desired. And again, Macaroni Grill has long lines waiting to get in. Let me finish the review with this restaurant, Spice, which I believe is a local establishment (if it is a chain let me know). It appears that they tried to renovate an old building for this restaurant, problem is they left too much of the old building. My wife said it looked (to her) like they were trying to give the 'adapted warehouse' look (which is REAL POPULAR around here). The walls had chips and cracks in it, that had been painted over - complete with paint drips. Up near the ceiling I saw where they had put in new beams and put firestops in - they had used strand board as the firestop material (rather common) - BUT, they didn't even paint it, you looked up and saw the strand board; not exactly the attractive or a finished look (at least in my book). Add to that that the silverware was spotted as were the glasses, it looked alot like they weren't as clean as you'd like to see. The service was okay, but not exceptional. The prices were okay, not real high unless and until you got into something like ... a meal. The prices for sandwitches and some real basic things were okay but when you moved to steaks and chicken dishes the prices rose fairly rapidly - the menu was also VERY limited. The wife and I ordered the fish and chips, the price was moderate, the fish was halibut and was firm. However, the fish was a bit overcooked (deep fat fryer) and tasted like it had been done in the same oil that they had deep fried chicken in. By the same token, the fries were underdone, severely underdone. All the dishes were square, which (I think) was suppose to be part of the ambiance - it wasn't. I can say that they did make a decent cup of coffee and a large one at that, although they also charged $2.25 per cup. So here are these three restaurants, all promoted and folks buying the promotions and the product is ... pathetic. Heck, Applebees or Red Robin or TGIF are better than these Yuppie joints.

Which brings me to the next bit of smoke and mirrors that the younger generation is buying into and just plain buying. I've been working on many, many condos that are all the rage in this town, since city hall is pushing it. Ummm, there isn't much there folks and they are charging a small fortune for it. Example, a ground floor condo, studio, approximately 600 square feet is going for approximately $300,000. For this princely sum, you get cabinets that are equal or less than what you find in a mobile home. You get the view of a wall or a casement window. The hall going to your "home" is just a long hall with doors on each side, not real different than many jails or hotels. Yet, folks are buying these things like crazy, partly because it's the only thing available for that price range and partly they are buying it because ... well, because I don't know why.

To finish the night, the wife and I headed to one last place that was suppose to be C&W dancing. We did find it, it did have a dance floor - but no one was dancing. It had one of those mechanical bulls, the patrons seemed to be having fun with it. However, does someone want to tell me when 'Jump' by Van Halen was classified as C&W? When was AC/DC classified as C&W? Those songs were intertwined with normal C&W. The place was basically a meat-rack for those below the age of 30 - we didn't belong there (it's okay we do know of one place that we can go and get some 'floor time').

The bottom line of this rant is to ask the question: Is the younger generation getting ripped off? Do they even realize it or have them been so indoctrinated that this medicore garbage is being accepted as a good? Or maybe I'm just too old - in many ways I'm happy that I won't be around to see what happens to this world in 50 years. All I can say is that from my perspective, it's not going in the right direction.

Your comments are welcome.

Global Warming - yeah, right!

Click on the headline to link to the original article!!!

However if you're a lefty and/or a tree hugger you won't like the article; because it's from NASA and it shows (rather than baseless claims) that the Ozone is actually healing itself. Shoot, another greenie theory shot to hell.

Oh, and it's not just NASA, no take a look at this article (link) about Alfred Slone a professor of meteorology at MIT. He too, doesn't toe the screaming greenies line - gee, they will have a hard time getting rid of him too.

Bad day for the "sky is falling" crowd, maybe if I look around I can find other news to ruin their day.

More Later

Shift Gears

Gotta keep writting till it come natural again.

My daughter (turns 17 in a few more days) got her first real job this year. An amazing turn of events - started with step-mom suggesting that during spring break, daughter takes a lifeguard course at the local pool. Daughter likes to swim, it's a natural and it did keep her busy and occupied all spring break (it was an 8 - 5 course the entire week); and she passed. So with her new found credentials she applied for and was hired as a lifeguard at that same pool, at a goodly rate above minimum wage - really great for a girl's first every real job. But wait it gets better - the pool job for the summer was good, but it wouldn't be full time, step-mom and daughter get talking and thoughts of summer camp abound. A quick phone call later and she's hired (last position available) as a lifeguard/camp aid/counselor in training position. This is work? Take a look at some of these pictures of where she's "working".






I'll post more shots later, but I keep telling her that while we are calling this a job, and although she is getting paid - she is in for SUCH a shock when she actually has to work. No pretty places to walk, fun things to do, nope it'll be work. On the other side of things she has seen what this extra education (the lifeguard course) has done for her. Opened doors that wouldn't have been opened, more pay than many other kids her age make.

God works in wonderous and mysterious ways.

More Later