"Would it bother you to know that the federal Centers for Disease Control had been shown your daughter’s health records to see how she responded to an STD/teen-pregnancy-prevention program? How about if the federal Department of Education and Department of Labor scrutinized your son’s academic performance to see if he should be “encouraged” to leave high school early to learn a trade? Would you think the government was intruding on your territory as a parent?
Under regulations the Obama Department of Education released this month, these scenarios could become reality. The department has taken a giant step toward creating a de facto national student database that will track students by their personal information from preschool through career. Although current federal law prohibits this, the department decided to ignore Congress and, in effect, rewrite the law. Student privacy and parental authority will suffer."
Damn! What is it with these Sonz-a-bitches that they feel the need to track, regulate, monitor and control every single part of our lives??
Don't bother answering. That was a rhetorical question. I know damn well why.
Orwell was right. But............
Damn if it doesn't seem like we hear of another government agency monitoring us daily! This is not gonna end well, Kids.
"Imagine my consternation then, Sir, when I look upon our Orchard today, and see the fruit withering on the branch, the crowns blighted, and the whole cloaked in the gauzy shrouds of assiduously destructive bagworms. How slothful and inattentive have become the arborists who constitute what my friend Thomas Jefferson referred to as our natural aristoi! What bovine complacency has afflicted a once alert and industrious citizenry!"
Oh Sweet Jeebers, it would be nice to have the talent to write stuff like that. As they say, go read the whole thing. It's short and pretty much guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
Edit to add- After reading through a few pages of this place I believe I'm gonna have to add Paco to the links.
Gratuitous Picture for a Friday Night- I know this one has been used before, but damn. It still makes me laugh.
In the early months of 1861—as the Confederate flag unfurled above Fort Sumter, as bands played and newly formed regiments paraded in towns and cities throughout the North and the South—two civilians sat disconsolately at the sidelines of the Civil War.
One had recently taken a desk job running a horse-drawn trolley line. He spent most of his days pushing papers, trying his hardest to concentrate on the minutiae of fare revenues and fodder costs, in an office permeated with pungent aromas from the company’s adjacent stables. The other man was a down-at-the-heels, small-town shop clerk who had come to the city in search of an officer’s commission. He camped out at his in-laws’ house, trudging around the city each day, fruitlessly trying to attract the attention of the local military authorities.
The trolley-car executive was named William Tecumseh Sherman. The luckless clerk was Ulysses S. Grant. Both—as unknown to one other, probably, as each was to the nation—had found themselves in St. Louis.
It was not yet Grant’s or Sherman’s Civil War in the spring of 1861......"
"Adam Goodheart is the author of 1861:The Civil War Awakening, forthcoming in April, from which this article is adapted."
Very good read & I would like to read the book when it comes out. If you are interested in Civil War stuff, you'll like this.
After Sleeping for 30 of the Last 48 Hours.......... Who would have thought I may have insomnia now? At least I'm feeling better now so I must have needed that sleep.
Since I'm awake I may as well share a few things with ya that I've been reading tonight.
From the, Take the Money and Run Department- DC ordered to pay $1M in historic gun case "The District of Columbia has been ordered to pay more than $1 million in attorneys' fees as a result of a historic gun case that was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dick Heller sued the city in 2003 over its ban on handgun ownership and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ban in June 2008, saying it violated the Second Amendment.
A federal judge on Thursday issued an opinion awarding Heller's attorneys $1,137,072.27 in fees and expenses. The attorneys had argued they should be awarded $3.1 million. Attorneys for the city said the figure should be closer to $840,000." DC Residents should make the officials who were responsible for this case going all the way to the Supreme Court pony up that money from their own pockets. Now THAT would be justice.
So How's that, "Hope & Change" working out for ya? - It’s the Math, Stupid!: Seven Devastating Facts About 2012 "As we enter 2012, the presidential candidates would do well to wrap their minds and messages around these seven mathematical facts:
1. Every day, the U.S. government takes in $6 billion and spends $10 billion. This means that every day the federal government spends $4 billion more dollars than it has...."
SOMEBODY ought to be thinking of this shit! Admitting that you have a problem is the first step to recovery, right? Obama wants to spend even more money that we don't have and the Repubs are to spineless to even consider doing anything meaningful about this. We are so Boned if we don't reign spending in.
The Silicon Graybeard has some Disturbing Thoughts on This and Makes a Historical Comparison that we may be Boned anyway- How John Corzine Could Be Archduke Ferdinand "The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand was, by everything I've read, not regarded as an important event beyond the immediate area. A minor incident in history except for being widely recognized as the trigger that led to World War I - recognized in hindsight, I might add."
It seems that the rule of law just keeps being ignored in DC if you're connected right. He links to a Gerald Celente piece that further explains the possibilities of this and how he was robbed in the MF Global bankruptcy. Interesting stuff. Celente is a sharp guy and has been spot on with forecasting economic things for a long time. It doesn't look promising. I doubt that anything CAN be done about this mess anymore until the bottom falls out and they have to address the problems.
And a Little Paranoia For Ya to Think About-
Government Total Recall On Past Communications "UCLA electrical engineering prof John Villaseno thinks the growing capacity of computers to collect, store, and analyze data will enable governments to assess, track, and draw connections between dissidents on a scale previously not seen. Thanks Lou Pagnucco who, no doubt, will be tracked by multiple governments as a result of this sentence I've written to thank him.
These regimes will store every phone call, instant message, email, social media interaction, text message, movements of people and vehicles and public surveillance video and mine it at their leisure, according to "Recording Everything: Digital Storage as an Enabler of Authoritarian Government," written by John Villaseno, a senior fellow at Brookings and a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA."
I'm gonna need more Tinfoil. That's all there is to it. The Good News? Here's some Plans for making your own- Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie. Don't forget, Shiny Side Out, Kids!
Sometime about mid-2009 America began changing psychologically. True, to the naked eye, America retained the old hustle and bustle, but in an insidious fashion it began to think a bit differently. And that change in mentality explains in part why a year-and-a-half recession that officially ended in summer 2009 seems never to have ended at all..."
Lots of stuff to digest there. I left out a bunch more, too. All in all things just don't look rosy out there. Take heed and do what ya need to do to get yourself lined out as best ya can for what's coming.
Think I'm Gonna Make It............... I seem to be getting over whatever type of Gut Bug hit me. Nasty stuff whatever it was.
Actually went outdoors this afternoon. Had to fill the Firewood Box and it felt pretty good just being outside for a few minutes. I have the Firewood topped off and the ash buckets emptied now so I'm good for a couple of days. Like most men, I'm a big Crybaby when I get sick & thankfully, that doesn't happen all that often. I've spent most of the last 2 days asleep. But that must have been what I needed as my back is feeling better and I'm not doubled over with stomach cramps.
Damn if I didn't miss out on ManCamp last night though and that doesn't make me happy. Oh well, what's a guy to do? Sure wouldn't have been able to drink beer and eat venison with the boys.
None of them needs a case of whatever I have either. Not to mention that the cabin where ManCamp is held doesn't have an indoor toilet - or an outdoor one either. Unless you count the cornfield as "Restroom Facilities". Nope, not a good idea as weird as my gut has been acting.
Bill Whittle Does It Again................ He really nails it in this one-
Yeah, I make no apologies for being a big fan of Bill Whittle.
Hope you all had a nice Christmas, got to see friends and families and all that. All the kids were here when I got home from work Christmas morning and it was nice to spend a little time with 'em before heading off to sleep.
Christmas always seems to have some big bummers come through the ER and this year was no exception.
Christmas Eve is a shitty time to discover that Grandma has a huge tumor in her head after she passes out at the family get together. That's just gotta suck and put a damper on things.
Aggravated my sore back again last night dealing with a 300+ lb friken, Land Whale. Just when I was starting to feel batter. Bitch and refuses to even help when we try to pull her fat ass up in bed or roll her over on her side. Nope, not because she couldn't. Just because she didn't have to and didn't feel like it.
Beer, Muscle Relaxers and a Heating Pad for the next few days. Maybe another trip to the ChiroCracker, too.
Hopefully I'll be ok for the upcoming, ManCamp this week.
Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Night- Damn. There's that Bitch on the beach!
Unusual Sighting Yesterday............ I'm not a Dedicated Bird Watcher by any means, but I spotted an, unknown to me, Raptor yesterday.
After about an hour of searching in my bird book and google, I'm pretty sure it was a Mississippi Kite It looked a bit more like an White Tailed Kite though.
"the White-tailed Kite is readily identified by its bright plumage and its habit of hovering while hunting for small mammals. "
It was indeed doing the, Hover thing and that's what made me notice it. It's not supposed to be around this area at all though according to the literature, so I doubt that's what it is.
Who Knows? I've been watching for it again today with no luck so far. Oh well. Beautiful bird whatever it was!
Gratuitous Picture for a Saturday-
And a bonus Tom Waits Christmas song- H/T to MSgt B
Happy Birthday, "Mustang Sally".............. This is my annual repost of my favorite Christmas gift ever.
Damn. That Kid is 12 years old now.
================================== The Best Christmas Gift I Ever Got ...........
Wasn't even a gift intended for me, nor did I get to keep it. I know that doesn't make sense, so let me explain ...........
Christmas Eve 1999, I was working the day shift and it was a relatively slow morning so far. It was about 25 degrees out, snowing pretty hard and it looked like we were gonna get a white Christmas.
At about 8:15 that morning, a young fella comes strolling in the backdoor and tells me he needs a wheelchair for his wife, who he tells me is ready to deliver her baby. Cool. He's acting all cool and shit, so I scoop up a wheelchair and head out towards the back. I'm asking him all the stock questions as we go. Seems her water broke about 30 minutes ago. It's her second child and she hasn't had any contractions yet.
These are all good answers and he was right on 2 out of 3.
We go outside and I see a brand new shiny red Mustang GT parked at the curb with a young woman in the passenger seat. And that's when I also noted that she had - THE LOOK.
Uh Oh.
Now Dad was still not aware that things were not quite as he believed them to be at this point, but I started moving faster and paying less attention to him and more towards what I was seeing in the Mustang.
Sure as shit, when I got close, the young Mother looked out the open window at me and screamed - "The Baby's Coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I hauled ass over there and she's got both feet up on the dashboard grunting and puffing like Teddy Kennedy at a Sorority House Party. She tells me the baby's coming and I believe her at this point. Oh Crap!! My "Pucker Factor" hits Warp 9 and I send Dad running back to the ER for Backup.
The young Lady had on a pair of white sweat pants so I just pulled them out and ......... DAMN!! The Kid's head is already out!!! I yanked her pants down, kinda up in this case, and was really wondering where my coworkers and Doctor were at this point.
Now she's in the front bucket seat of a little sportscar with her feet up on the dashboard. The ergonomics were not real good for delivering a Baby, so I'm fumbling like mad, trying to find the seat release to lay that seat back.
She's sweating and grunting. I'm sweating and scared as hell and trying to find that damn seat release, when all of a sudden I found it.
She was braced, with those feet on the dash, pushing like hell when I popped that seat release and ...... WHAM!! That seat flew back and that Kid came flying out of there like a shot!
Now, I'm a "Crosseyed Little FuckTard" or CELF, and have the hand/eye coordination of most Garden Slugs, but I made a one handed stab that would have made any Major League Shortstop proud and snatched that Kid up in midflight and then immediately went into brain lock.
Thank G-d, the brain lock only lasted a few seconds as that Kid was blue as a Smurf and not breathing. My brain re-engaged and I started rubbing the little shit, while keeping it's (I didn't know what the sex was yet) head point down to drain anything from it's mouth.
After what seemed like an eternity, that kid took a big ol' breath and then let out a very nice sounding cry. Mom and I started breathing again at that point too.
Finally, Suzie came out the back door with a cart and Dad was right behind her. Now remember, it was 25 degrees out and snowing hard and I'm holding this steaming little baby and trying to figure out what the hell to do next. I calmly screamed like a little school girl, "I GOT A DAMN BABY HERE!!!!!" I then had Dad take off his Greatful Dead, tie dye tee shirt and utilized it as a swaddling cloth.
The Doctor finally came sauntering out, taking his sweet ass time and Suzie about ran his ass over carrying the "Precipitous Delivery Package" out to the car.
So here I am holding this slimy little bundle in my bare hands and the first word out of Dumbass Doc's mouth is to ask me for a Bulb syringe so he can suction out the baby's mouth.
I politely replied that, "I would be happy to shit one out for you if you have a minute, but I really thought you may have thought to bring one with you. Asshole". He was not impressed with my answer. We clamped and cut the cord and Doc, Suzie and Dad took off inside with the Baby, leaving Mom and me still out in the car.
I looked at mom, and since she was a little bitty thing, I just reached in and snatched her ass up and tossed her on the cart. Her pants were still down around her ankles and her ass was hanging out in the wind, but I figured it was the thing to do at the time. She didn't seem to mind.
As I was wheeling her into the ER she asked me if it was a Boy or a Girl.
I had no clue. I had held the Baby face down the entire time and never even saw the business side of things.
Turned out it was a 6 lb 6 oz little Girl who had all her fingers and toes in order and she did just fine. Mom and Baby were moved up to the OB floor shortly afterward.
So that was the best Christmas gift I never got - 7 years ago today. I forget what they named her, but I wanted to call her "Mustang Sally".
But nobody asked me. ================================
Just Another Day in Paradise............... Here at the GrumpyUnk Command and Control Center.
Went to the ChiroCracker yesterday as my neck, shoulders and upper back are, in the words of my Brother, Chief, "Stiff as a Wedding Pecker".
This shit happens periodically for no good reason and I just hate it. The ChiroCracker doesn't seem to have helped a hell of a lot either which is unusual. Oh well. Suck it up and drive on I guess. I've got a heating pad on it now and hopefully that'll help some. This has been a problem ever since I Broke My Neck years ago. Yeah, Shit Happens. Hard to complain when you're still able to walk around and all that so I try not to bitch to much about it.
Hope Y'all have a nice Christmas. I'll be working the night shift, but I'll still get to see the kids so it's all good.
Enjoy your family. Here's a little Christmas Music for ya-
Gratuitous Picture for a Friday Afternoon- Here's Phil Read making sure he gets to the Christmas Party on time.
Blog Template Surgery............. It seems the PayPal refused to pay the folks from JS-Kit/Echo for another years service of their commenting system.
It's a shitty setup and I don't care for it anyway, so it's no great loss. Except I'm gonna lose all of the comments you folks have made here over the years. That don't make me happy.
Now, to try to uninstall this shit and return to the stock Blogger comment system. I found a guide from a tech guy and hopefully it'll work as easy as he says. I always get a bit nervous dicking around with even the simplest of code, etc, as I have a regular Midas Touch for turning this sort of thing to shit by messing with it.
We'll see. So if this place goes dark you'll know why.
So I just say, "Merry Christmas" to all of Y'all now just in case.
Edit to Update- Well the switch worked ok. Buh Bye, all of the old comments.
"..and if they say you did something to deserve a beating, they will be believed by the courts.
Our old comrade Radley Balko does what he does best at The Agitator, chronicling how all-too-often citizens have no rights a policeman need respect when it comes to altercations:"
With the new laws passed recently that say you can be snatched up and detained on the whim of some government official, I guess this is what they will do BEFORE they haul yer ass off to the Camps.
"And I'm Proud to be an American. Where at least I know I'm free!" - Sorry Mr Greenwood. Not anymore.
In case you're living under a rock, here's Old Remus to succinctly explain some of those new laws- Outrage of the Day-
"The lights are going out all over America. The House and Senate have passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, Sections 1031, 1032 and 1034 of which allow the arrest of U.S. citizens by the armed forces, without laying charges, without evidence or legal representation, with indefinite detention...." Short and easy. Go read it the whole thing.
And for the Diversity Loving Crowd, here's something to think about -
• $75,000 to promote awareness about the role Michigan plays in producing Christmas trees & poinsettias.
• $15.3 million for one of the infamous Bridges to Nowhere in Alaska.
• $113,227 for video game preservation center in New York.
• $550,000 for a documentary about how rock music contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• $48,700 for 2nd annual Hawaii Chocolate Festival, to promote Hawaii’s chocolate industry.
• $350,000 to support an International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy.
• $10 million for a remake of “Sesame Street” for Pakistan.
• $35 million allocated for political party conventions in 2012.
• $765,828 to subsidize “pancakes for yuppies” in the nation’s capital.
• $764,825 to study how college students use mobile devices for social networking."
As we bleed out economically, this is what they do with the money they don't really have? We are so Boned.
And if you just need to get your mind off of some of this shit- Factual TV - Jim Redman Documentary I rented this last night. Way Good. YerUnk gives it 2 thumbs up! Looks like they have some more videos that I will have to see.
Sleep Cycle Reset.......... Bouncing back and forth between the night shift and regular life can be a bit difficult at times, but it's usually no big deal.
For some reason it's been difficult the last couple weeks to get my shit together. Don't know exactly why that is either, but it just has been.
Last night must have been where my brain and body agreed that it was time to get regulated. I slept for damn near 11 hours! Wow! Since I only average about 6 hours, that's quite the accomplishment. I feel a hell of a lot better today for it too.
Gonna go get some work done around here while I have the energy. Here's a video of some crazy bastard that I saw at The Feral Irishman's place-
I think I'd be wearing some gear if I were trying that.
Not This Time............. Saw the "News" that Jon Bon Jovi had died earlier this morning and did a, "Hmmmmmmmmmm. I think I fell for this BS when Nick Gage was reported to have fallen off a cliff in New Zealand or some shit a few years ago".
Seems that the, "Once Bitten. Twice Shy." attitude pays off. Just another hoax- Now, I'm not a real fan of, Bon Jovi, but this gives me an intro to tell ya the story of when I met him.
Any good excuse for Blog Fodder is a good one, yes?
I was touring with John "Cougar" Mellencamp for a couple of years back about 10 years ago and got to meet, Mr Bon Jovi.
It was about a week prior to the 9-11 attacks and the band was playing in New Jersey. Like always, I was hanging around backstage keeping an eye on Jay (see the link above for background)when this long tall guy wearing a cowboy hat walked by and ducked into the office to see, Rocky.
Rocky was the Head Honcho and pretty much ran all the day to day stuff on the tour. It seems that Rocky had been, Jon Bon Jovi's tour manager and close friend for a lot of years and they were still good friends.
Rocky was running the sound board and only had a few moments to spend with him so he brought Bon Jovi over to where, Jay and I were standing, introduced us and hauled ass back to the sound board.
Here's the good news.
Jon Bon Jovi is a really nice guy. No kinda, "I'm a BIG ROCK STAR!1!1!!!" attitude at all. Friendly as hell and engaging & he seemed to be genuinely interested in talking to Jay and I. We shot the shit for 10-15 minutes and it was a pretty interesting conversation.
Not like a lot of celebrities I met on those tours.
I could see he was paying attention to the stage the whole time so he could go out and do a song with, Mellencamp, but he never acted like it was a bother for him to hang with us.
All in all, he seemed like a right decent guy, so when I saw the fake news this morning I was hoping it was a hoax. And I'm glad it was.
Guess we have to have an obligatory video here, 'eh? Jeebers, check out the hair!
And since "Once Bitten. Twice Shy." was mentioned here earlier, so-
I met, Ian Hunter backstage at a Texas show, too. Another real nice guy. We sat, drank coffee and shot the shit for damn near an hour. Refreshing change from some of the other Shitheads I met. (I'm looking at you Dave Matthews.) Oh hell, since I got off on an Ian Hunter thread, here's another song of his-
I better quit now or there's no telling where this could lead to.
Motorcycle Monday............... Slept late today after working the night shift the last couple of days. While checking the email, I saw saw this video from Motorcycle Classics Magazine- Dave Roper at the Isle of Man on a '67 Bennelli 350. This is some sweet shit right here. (Note how the tach revs backwards)
There are 2 parts. Watch 'em both. Roper is a stud and the only American to win at the Isle of Man. Check out this ride on a G50 Matchless with commentary during the trip around the island. He just sounds like he's driving down to the store for milk or something- Part 1 -
Roper rode for Team Obsolete for a long time. Really don't know if he still does or not. Judging from his website, it doesn't sound like it. Team obsolete has a fantastic stable of old bikes. Check out that link. I've seen a bunch of them at different events and saw Giacomo Agostini riding one of his old MV Agusta's owned by them by at Mid Ohio a few years ago. That was a thrill.
Team Obsolete also has bikes that were ridden by a couple of my other favorites, such as 2 time AMA Champ Dick Mann- Yep, that bike right there. Got to meet him a few years ago. What a gentleman. Honest to goodness, nice guy.
They also have a Honda 250cc 6 cylinder ridden by one of my favorite riders, Jim Redman
Sounds like this-
If you've been around here for awhile, you remember my favorite Jim Redman picture -
World Champ 6 times. Not bad. Not counting his Isle of Man wins.Gotta love the InterWebz. All kinds of good shit to waste time on.
"OK, I am not going to lecture you about the dangers of narcotic pain medicines. We both know how addictive they are: you because you know how it feels when you don't have your vicodin, me because I've seen many many many people just like you. However, there are a few things I can tell you that would make us both much happier......"
Hat tip to Dr BoJack. Apparently, the Zombies around these parts haven't figured this out.
Gratuitous Picture for a Sunday Afternoon-
H/T to - Wirecutter for the picture. And yes, I want one for my truck.
You'd Have Thought I'd Remember............ Some of these things. But sometimes I need a reminder. A couple of important things in American history happened on December 16th.
Years ago, I worked as an agency nurse in the ER at a VA hospital for a short while. The clientele at the VA is always a fun group. They are all sick as hell, old as dirt, have some kind of craziness associated with substance abuse or all of the above.
But they ALL have at least one interesting story to tell if they feel like it. We had an old WW II vet with pneumonia and I caught a glimpse of his chest xray while walking by and about shit myself. There were metal pieces all over this guy!
I asked him where he got all that shrapnel from and he replied, "The Ardennes Forest. Battle of the Bulge. December 1944". He told me it was from "Those Damn, Nebelwerfer's. Bastards were setting the fuses to go off in the trees, so you got metal AND tree limbs killing ya!"
Now, I'm pretty good on my WWII history, but I had to look up just what a "Nebelwerfer" was . Looks like this. Nasty little rocket/mortar bastard. Some had 5 barrels, this one has 6. Effective bastard, as that old gentleman can attest to.
I never met any Vets from The Boston Tea Party, so I can't relate anything personal on that.
Except that, I Approve the next one.
Update- Ace of Spades has a link to some good Life Magazine photos of the battle.
Gratuitous Picture for a Friday Night- Have a Cthulhu Christmas.
Now I know that this may shock some of you but here's a good question- Climategate Bombshell: Did U.S. Gov't Help Hide Climate Data? Are your tax dollars helping hide global warming data from the public? Internal emails leaked as part of “Climategate 2.0” indicate the answer may be "Yes."
In an honest world where truth mattered, Global Warming would have already been laughed out of existence. Hopefully, there will come a point where all of these frauds will have to payback the tax dollars they received.... Right before they close the cell door on them.
For news related to all things Global Warming I recommend Anthony Watts. This 2nd set of emails, ClimateGate 2.0, may just be the pebble that sets off the avalanche. We can only hope.
With just a couple weeks before 100 watt incandescent bulbs are outlawed, House Republicans are making a last ditch stand for them with a rider on a spending bill- Spending bill blocks light bulb standards Hey, it's something anyway. I hate those Mercury Filled Toxic Waste Curly Bastard Bulbs. They don't last all that long and I've had one of them catch on fire after only 2 weeks of use. They are fragile as hell and Toxic as shit if you break one in the house. Yeah, Not a Fan.
Somehow I have a hard time understanding how a bulb filled with toxic heavy metal is more "Green". Feel free to explain it to my dumb ass.
Ace of Spades has a great Bill Whittle Video today you should see -
I know we are all aware of this, but he sure has a way with words. Yeah, I have a ManCrush on Whittle.
Here's something my Brother turned me on to a couple of days ago that may interest you- 100 Pushups. Sounds good and I may even get my old ass working on this. No doubt I need to.
Odd Occurrence Here............... Both today and yesterday I have seen Honeybees here.
Granted, the weather has warmed quite a bit and it was in the 50's both today and yesterday. What got my attention is, over the last 2 years I've only seen 2 or 3 Honeybees at all. I haven't seen any hive boxes around anywhere (not that that means much. Could just be setup out of sight) so I don't know if they are domestic or wild.
Doesn't matter I suppose, but it is nice to see them. I still want to get some hives going here so it makes me smile to see the little things.
I really need to get off my ass and start either buying hive parts or making them myself.
Gratuitous Picture for a Thursday- Uh, that would be, "No Earl." Don't suppose, "Why do you ask?" is all that important.
"It is important to remember that government interference always means either violent action or the threat of such action. Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen. The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning. Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom." Ludwig von Mises
Pelerin concludes that- "There is no viable political solution. Choosing between Corruption Faster (Democrats) and Corruption Slower (Republicans) does not change the destination, merely the rate at which the public is plundered. Government is too large and too powerful to allow itself to be dismantled via the ballot box. Yet it is also too large, too inefficient and too insolvent to survive."
You gonna argue with that? I can't.
Alan Caruba at his Blog, Warning Signs posted a good article Saturday that ties in with the above article nicely- America's Communist President He concludes - "In 2010 Americans returned power in the House of Representatives to the Republican Party. We must finish the job in the Senate and in the White House in 2012. If we do not, the America we love will perish."
I personally think it's already to late for the ballot box to change much. Read the Pelerin article above and think about it.
We are a Nation of two totally separate cultures that share only a common language and common borders. One group wants to control everything you do via government. The other just wants to be left the hell alone.
Another Day Older............ And deeper in debt, as Tennessee Ernie Ford said.
Had a birthday the other day. Yay Me!
I don't really celebrate shit like that much except to note that I am still sucking wind, above ground and 20 odd degrees above room temperature. Those are all good things, ya know.
Well, to me anyway.
I'm feeling everyday of it lately, too. The arthritis is starting to be a real pain in the ass. Well, more so in the joints, but you get the idea.
My Mom had Rheumatoid Arthritis in her hands that made me cringe just looking at them. That scares me. When I was going through all the testing to see if I had Lupus, that's one of the things that tested positive, the rheumatoid factor.
Don't even like to think about it advancing like Mom's did, who knows? Just have to deal with it as it comes.
Hmmm. Life's like that I guess.
The ER was a mess this weekend. Not that the full moon had any effect on things or anything like that. Shit, it was a ZombieFest of the highest order all weekend. All of my, Not Favorite Folks, came to visit attempting to scam drugs, etc. Damn, I have to really remind myself that these shitheads do not represent a true cross section of society or I'd go and end up in a tower shooting random folks like Charles Fucking Whitman or some crazy shit like that.
Nothing to be done about those shitHeads so I just have to keep plugging along and try not to let them suck the life out of me as they do the country that supports their worthless asses. In the long run, it's a self limiting problem anyway. Darwin's rules will see to that starting the day the USA goes tits up broke and the checks stop going out. You productive folks out there? Make a point to not be around crowds when that happens.
Yes, I'm unusually grumpy today. Only had 3 hours of sleep and probably should go take a nap. That's actually a great idea. See ya later.
Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Afternoon- Shamelessly stolen from Roger
More "Raw Milk" goofiness. I really can't understand why the FDA has gone, "Balls to the Walls" on the raw milk thing. Here's my favorite part of this story-
"Earlier this month, Rogers emailed Goldstein that there had been "a number of inspections and attempted inspections on (Hochstetler's) farm..." He warned that "any further attempts to inspect this farm without a warrant signed by a local judge, based on probable cause, will result in Federal inspectors' removal or arrest for trespassing by my officers or I."
"Oath Keepers has learned that federal agents recently visited a Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Church food storage cannery in Tennessee, demanding customer lists, wanting to know the identity of Americans who are purchasing food storage from the Mormons."
Now WTF is that about? Can't be good, that's for sure. Ya gotta wonder.
Update- Oath Keepers has pulled the Cannery Story now. Not sure WTF is going on with that.
Heading off to fight the Zombie Hordes in the ER now.
Didn't see a computer, listen to the radio, or see a TV for a few days there. Since I don't ever watch TV, that was not unusual.
Didn't miss any of them really.
Did miss December 7th and Pearl Harbor day. I always try to mark that day here. Special thing that day.
It seems that last month, I missed the announcement that Black Sabbath was back together recording and will tour next year. I was never a HUGE Sabbath fan, but if you grew up and were into music during that time, they were a big deal. If you were a Stoner like me, you listened to them.
Elizabeth Alisha Greta Halfmoon, 45, also known to go by Alisha Halfmoon, was arrested for endeavoring to manufacture meth at the 81st and Lewis store."
"(12-07) 13:11 PST DUBLIN -- One of the zany experiments staged by the "Mythbusters" television show nearly turned into a suburban tragedy Tuesday afternoon in Dublin when the crew fired a homemade cannon toward huge containers of water at the Alameda County Sheriff's Department bomb disposal range."
Whoops! Looks like it went through a couple of houses trashed a mini-van. I dialed up, Google Earth and it looks like the cannon ball went around 1000 yards. WooHoo!!!
I'll have to tell ya my Homemade Cannon story sometime. Fortunately, not as impressive as that. But Hey, we were only 12 or 13 years old.
Back Home Again in Indiana......... Returned to the "GrumpyUnk Command and Control Bunker" last night after a quick trip to the East Coast to help a friend of mine.
He had some things that needed fixing and a shit ton of Frequent Flyer Miles, so he footed the flight out there for me. Worked out cool.
I fixed a few things for him and did, "Honey Do" cleanup things for him and he took me out and fed me me like a monster and bought beer. Perfect. I had never had fresh Lobster before. Fresh as in, you can see the dock where they unload them from the restaurant. Oh my. That shit is good. Messy as hell but who cares? Yeah, he had to teach my dumbass how to disassemble the thing to eat it properly. But it was cool.
Unfortunately, the weather sucked ass. Cold and rainy until the morning I left. Pretty country up that way and I hope to make a bike ride that way this Summer. TheBigBluePlasticMotorcycle would like that area.
Great trip. Got to see my Buddy. Ate like a King. All Good. Hope to do it again sometime.
Gratuitous Picture for a Friday- The "BigBluePlasticMotorcycle" in Wyoming 2007.
Cool and Not Cool................ Cool. As in Funny Cool. Killer Attack Barbie The whole Zombie thing has really gotten legs the last couple of years and I can see where it's about reached the saturation point out there. Don't care. The Killer Attack Barbie makes me laugh.
The Not so funny- Wirecutter posted this video the other day and I gotta tell ya, just watching it pissed me the hell off.
Yep, the gene pool wouldn't miss that asshole a bit.
The REALLY Not Funny- Toaster at Green Mountains Homestead has the skinny on SB 1867. If you're not familiar with this piece of shit that passed the Senate last week you need to go check it out. I'm sorry but, the Obama shitheads haven't impressed me on being to competent on much of anything. Do you want these assholes deciding whether you get rounded up or not? I didn't think so. Check it out. This is shit you need to know about just what these pricks are up to. Watch the videos. Scary Shit.
Just got home from a 12 hour nightshift in the ER. Tired as hell & time to sleep.
Just what I needed. Damn! It's not like I need any more shit to add to my weirdness.
"There’s plenty of reason to be concerned Big Brother is watching.
We’re paranoid not because we have grandiose notions of our self-importance, but because the facts speak for themselves.
Here’s our short list of nine reasons that Wired readers ought to wear tinfoil hats, or at least, fight for their rights and consider ways to protect themselves with encryption and defensive digital technologies.
We know the list is incomplete, so if you have better reasons that we list here, put them in the comments and we’ll make a list based off them.
Until then, remember: Don’t suspect a friend; report him"
Great. Oh well. I'm just gonna post this as a PSA for Y'all.
I picked up an extra shift today, 3pm to 3am. Got home a couple hours ago and haven't been able to sleep yet.
So there ya go. An early post for ya!
Gratuitous Picture for a Friday Morning-
It bothers me that this is entirely correct. We have no idea.
