WTW - Dog Reports

This week I asked Dog the Hillybilly Ecosystem reporter to fill in for me and come up with a WTW post.

*pant, pant*

Mr. President, Mr. President

Yes

Sir it’s me, Dog the Reporter. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.

Your name is “Dog”? But you’re a dog don’t you have a real name like Duke or Killer or something?

No sir, just Dog, we Hillbilly’s are simple folk, content to call a dog “Dog”. Fancy names are for prissy city dogs, or maybe if a fella is rich like he might have more than one dog, then he’s gotta name em to tell em apart. I’m just Dog the reporter.

Just Dog then. Makes good sense, no reason to go cofusicating people. Ask your questions.

How do you respond to people who say that you’re a one issue president and that all you care about is the war in Iraq?


Well, Dog thats just not true. I've worked on lots of stuff as president. Like my health care drug program. It was very popular.

And don’t forget my plan to make America independent from foreign oil.




Well OK Mr. President but what about the faulty intelligence that CIA gave us that got us into the war in Iraq?


Dog, I’ll have you know I get all my information from a highly reliable source, and some of my best ideas too.

Mr. President, why are you giving amnesty to millions of illegal aliens who come here to free load on our social programs and take jobs away from Americans, without even trying to enforce the laws or protect our boarders?

Now Dog its not that simple I have a comprehensive Amnesty Without Responsibility ^TM plan. It includes lots of stuff for freeloaders and government employees.

Besides I have another perfectly good reason for giving amnesty to all those Mexicans.

Whats that Mr President?

Next election those 12 million illegals will vote for me and I'll get to keep being president. The illegals are the only people in the country happy with me. I mean have you seen the polls lately?

But Sir, you can’t be president again, the 22^nd amendment to the constitution limits you to two terms.

“The Constitution is just a goddamned piece of paper”

Yes sir, but we still follow it and you can’t be el presidente again.

Oh sucks! Well I know who I’m gonna endorse then, someone who will keep this country going in the same direction that I did.

Sunday in Church

I wanted to write something profound for Memorial Day. I came up with nothing. I thought about the history behind it and I thought about our current military situation. Ironic that the first Republican president delivered the Republic a mortal blow and this Republican President is doing his best to beat the remaining life out of it. The politics behind America’s wars make it hard to feel patriotic.

Sunday in church we had a visitor. Not really a visitor, I guess. He grew up here. He sat/slouched in my Sunday school class as a teen. He’s a good kid, from a good blue collar American family. He graduated high school and had been living at home working a job and going nowhere in particular. He’s got an older brother who’s a sea-be, so he enlisted.

He came home a few months back after basic training for 30 days, then it was back for more school. He was home this time for two weeks. Next stop Japan, then the Big Sandbox. Two Christmas’s ago, at party before he shipped out, we were joking with the boy that a USMC drill Sgt was like getting married except marriage is harder. Sunday there was no joking.

Memorial Day isn’t about history or politics. Kids coming out of high-school don’t know squat about either. What these boys do know on some instinctive level is that men defend. So they pick up their riffle and go. They can’t afford to ask questions about the morality of the situation once they’ve made their decision. There is no room for a second guess. You go, do your job, keep your head down and try to live to make it home.

You tell your buddies and yourself that what you’re doing is right. That’s how you keep motivated and do what you have to do. What you’re doing is right, if not on political/philosophical grounds, on primeval ones.

Men defend. They fight for home, for friends, for family and for each other. The flag doesn’t represent George pinko-commie-rat-bastard wet-back Bush, the Republican Party, regressive taxation, conspicuous consumption, or any of the other crap symbolized as modern America. The flag represents home, friends and family, boyhood days spent playing army telling your friends that you’re George Washington, John Wayne or Luke Skywalker. Except now your stick gun is a real one, and buddies don’t get up after counting ten when they get shot.

The flag represents all that is sweet about life, it’s the ideal. That’s what our men in uniform are fighting for, an ideal. America may not live up to that ideal in reality, but that doesn’t keep the idea from living in men’s hearts.

As long as the ideal lives, men will stand up to defend it. Those men, past and present, have my admiration, respect and gratitude. They’ve earned it.

Sunday in church, I sat on a pew, next to a young man who is answering the call of his country, his flag and manhood. I looked him in the eye, shook his hand and said thank you.

Read and Act

This is the full text of a speech given on the floor of the senate by Jeff Sessions Republican senator from Alabama. It’s a long read, running 11 pages as a word doc. It’s a must read for anyone who cares what the sellouts in the Republican Party are up to. Included in the speech are some hidden details in the senate’s version of the Amnesty Without Responsibility ^TM immigration bill.

It is clear the people who drafted this legislation had an agenda and the agenda was not to meet the expectations of the American people. The agenda was to create a facade and appearance of enforcement, an appearance of toughness in some instances. When you get into the meat of the provisions and get into the bill and study it, tucked away here and there are laws that eviscerate and eliminate the real effectiveness of those provisions. It was carefully done and deliberately done. This is a bill that should not become law. It is a bill that will come back to be an embarrassment to our Members who have supported it. I wish it were not so. I know how these things happen. You do not always have time to do everything you want to do. You try to do something you think is right, but ultimately in a bill as important as this one that has tremendous impact on the future of our country and our legal system and our commitment to the rule of law, we ought to get it right. We ought not to let this one slide by. It is not acceptable to say, let’s just pass something and we will send it to the House and maybe the House of Representatives will stand up and stop it and fix it. That is not acceptable for the great Senate of the United States.

• the employers of illegal aliens would be given an amnesty for cheating on their taxes,

• the government would for all practical purposes have to take an illegal alien’s word for it that he has been in the country illegally long enough to qualify for an amnesty.

• $500 billion in additional welfare payments it will cost American taxpayers

Now get on the horn an rip your senator a new body orifice for selling out America. Both of mine rejected the bill and voted against it. When I see my senator next week, I’m going to thank him for voting no.

Rafting Trip Finalized

We have a trip planned for Sat June 10.

We’re going to make a run on the upper Arkansas. This is a fantastic section of river and at current water levels it is sure to be a blast. Like last year we’re planning a feast for afterwards. We are going to try to get enough people for a group discount, if not the trip should be in the $109 range for a full day including wet suits. We will work out accommodations for Friday and Saturday night as we know more.

We are planning for another memorable Saturday night feast at Château WaterBoy. Aperitifs will be served before dinner with a sampling of various libations. The main course last year was grilled rib eye. Maybe this year WaterGirl will turn the kitchen over to me and I’ll get creative. Perhaps a prime rib of beef, twice baked potatoes, sautéed shrooms and some surf to go with the turf. I have a pinot in mind to accompany dinner. After dinner Res’s Great Northern will be served!

Here’s how to get in on the food, fun and whitewater: send either me or WaterBoy an email, the link to mine is on the right of the page. Say your coming. For those in the front-range area we’ll work out transportation; for those of you flying in we can arrange, on a limited basis, pick up from DIA on Friday.

P.S. This is not the paddle or die trip on thru Gore Cannon, we’re waiting for water levels to drop down below 1500 cfs before we run that, likely we’ll be going on that trip in July or August.

Via Sgt. Grit

The Sunday May 7th Doonesbury cartoon disturbed me enough that I wrote the following to the editor of the Dallas Morning News;

I don't normally read Doonesbury but this past Sunday, I read through the comic and was totally disgusted by what I read. The premise of the comic was a US Army Recruiter at a high school and how you can't be a loser if you want to join the US Army because of the technical nature of how we fight wars these days. One student says about another that the reason they are asking these questions is because the student is a loser, the character then replies, "well you should talk to the Marines". Well, my oldest son is a US Marine and he is no loser, why anyone would call the men and women of the US Marines losers is beyond me. Because of this disrespectful comic, I am canceling my subscription to the Dallas Morning News. Gary Trudeau has every right to create this type of comic but someone at that newspaper should have had the decency to say during a time where our men and women are dying in Iraq that it was inappropriate to print this comic. Maybe the next time Mr. Trudeau wants to refer to the US Marines as losers, he should take a trip to one of their bases and do it in person.

A very proud father of a US Marine Frank DeGise

California Screaming

From the nuts and fruitcake state:

Teaching Johnny About Islam

In our brave new schools, Johnny can't say the pledge, but he can recite the Quran. Yup, the same court that found the phrase "under God" unconstitutional now endorses Islamic catechism in public school.

In a recent federal decision that got surprisingly little press, even from conservative talk radio, California's 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled it's OK to put public-school kids through Muslim role-playing exercises, including:

Reciting aloud Muslim prayers that begin with "In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful . . . ."

Memorizing the Muslim profession of faith: "Allah is the only true God and Muhammad is his messenger."

Chanting "Praise be to Allah" in response to teacher prompts.

Professing as "true" the Muslim belief that "The Holy Quran is God's word."

In California: “One nation under God”, is too offensive. A cross at a war memorial is too offensive. Letting parents decide when and what to teach their kids about alternative lifestyles is to offensive. Kids hearing that evolution and intelligent design are both theories, is too offensive. Not letting gay men go on camp outs with boy scouts is too offensive. Insisting that Mexicans should come here legally, obey our laws and speak English is racist.

WTF! Are California courts a inter dimensional portal vortex into the Twilight Zone?

That question is rhetorical, its either that or the 9^th level of hell.

Give Us Something Better

Res Mail:

“That post on needing to practice was interesting, but com’mon it wasn’t very useful. I’ve read you on blogs saying you need to drill. How about some drills.”

O.K. then. First, you need to understand that for me shooting is a hobby. I like to hunt fish and hike in wild country. I carry a handgun. I shoot in a pistol league, but I’m not the greatest shooter there is. I’ve seen good shooters, I’m OK . Assuming you know gun and range safety here’s a drill designed to sharpen your skills against wolves.

Description: Your friends invited you on a Snipe hunt. You were placed with a trash bag to holdopen and given a baseball bat to bash the Snipe over the head. Being smarter than the average bear, you brought your CCW; just in case these frisky Snipe's get out of hand. While your friends have gone off to find a Snipe and herd it towards you, you hear low growls and begin to see a pack of wild dogs who have targeted you for an easy meal.

String 1: Shooter starts holding a bag and baseball bat. at sound of buzzer engages targets free-style -- 2 shots per target. Rounds: 8 Rounds Minimum Notes: Have shooter hold bag and baseball bat while voices from the gallery make howling noises. The front dog is the Alpha male. Because these are wild dogs the others will not flee when the Alpha male is shot.

*Course of fire from the IDPA

Using dog sized cardboard cutouts this drill makes good practice for a wild animal encounter. I like to mix in small poppers to make it more interesting. In real life you would have been bit, if it takes you more than 3 or 4 seconds to score hits on all the targets.

White Trash Wednesday – Australia Edition

In an effort to be more culturally sensitive,(so what if its court ordered)this weeks WTW features two pics from the land down under. Strictly speaking these two pics might not be white trash we’ll take a poll and see.

I always wondered why the Aussie’s call chicks “shelias”. Silly me, they’re not talking about girls. It’s all about the sheep. The Aussie accent makes it hard to understand, what their really saying: “sheep yeah!” sounds a lot like “Sheila” to American ears. It's the accent.



Being gay doesn’t automatically make you White Trash. There are lots of gays that aren’t white. Hernando the hair dresser, gay but definitely not white. I hate to come off as racist but I really do believe that to be White Trash you gotta be white first. I don’t know, call me old fashioned, some things are better off the traditional way. Look at China, in a few years their going to be 90% gay 'cause they killed off most all the girls, defiantly a sub-human act but again, not white.

Most gay guys aren’t really trashy either. Anyone that remembers not to wear white gym socks with dark dress slacks and wingtips don’t have a good chance at making it as white trash.


What makes these mates from Adelaide white trash isn’t being gay, it’s walking down the street buck naked except for engineer boots and a Crocodile Dundee hat.


Ya’ll did a double take didn’t ya?

WTW survey question:
Are today’s pics 100% white trash, or just creepy?

The Importance of Practice

I haven’t done a gun post in awhile. First an update, if you remember back in March I posted the Wish List about a lucky guy who’s wife was going to buy him his first concealed carry gun. It’s official Buffella, is the lucky guy. I’m not sure when he’s going to get the new gun but I bet he’s looking forward to it. When I get a pic I’ll post it.

Humans learn things in stages. When it comes to learning a physical skill we lean in steps. First we develop head knowledge, then familiarity, proficiency and hopefully automatic response and mastery.

Head knowledge is just that, intellectual acquaintance with a subject. You can read a book or a magazine about how to shoot or maybe even have someone tell you. Until you put it into practice its just theory. I’m not dismissing theory, you need a good starting point for anything you do, but you have to move to the next step.

Familiarity is the stage where you start trying to do the theory. In shooting a handgun you start practicing the things you’ve learned, like gun safety, proper draw, stance, grip, sighting, trigger control and follow through. You get familiar with the gun and how to handle and use it.

Proficiency is when you’ve been practicing for awhile and you’ve taught your muscles how to do the same thing each time. For instance, every time you draw your week hand grips the strong hand the exact same way. There are any number of little differences in technique that effect accuracy. Proficiency is the stage where you have mastered your technique and can execute it consistently on demand.

Automatic Response and Mastery is when you have disciplined your body to the point that the muscles can automatically perform the task you require without your mind telling them each step. You can engage any target from 1 to 50 yards and hit it without thinking yourself thru each step. This is where the handgun user wants to be.

In order to use a handgun under stress, you need to progress to at least the proficiency level. Anything less and you will be a danger to yourself and others. The only way to get good with a gun is to practice. I’m a big believer in lots of practice. If you’re serious about transitioning from head knowledge to Mastery you’re going to need to pull the trigger 200 or more times a week until you get it.

This is where dry-firing comes in. Unload your gun and drill yourself through each step of the alert/draw/stance/acquire/shoot/reload process. Make sure you pull the trigger each time. Work yourself through the process in sets of 10 or 20. This will help your muscles learn what their supposed to do without burning ammo. Also you will be able to get practice more often in smaller doses and you will be less likely to get bored. When you go to the range, which should be weekly, you will transition to live fire practice easily and you will soon see an improvement in accuracy, and eventually speed.

Starting a Small Part Time Business

Astro got me thinking that some basic advice on starting a small business could be in order. I’m not going to tell you what product or service is your sure fire way to riches that depends on your talent and interests.

Step one: get a plan; what do you want to sell, who do you want to sell to, how are you going to do it, how much will it cost to get started, marketed and keep running for at least the first 90 days

Step two: get a name; something you can use that people will remember, like Astro’s Rocket Repairs

Step three: get a DBA (Doing Business As) this is also called a fictitious filing. You’ll need the DBA for the bank, most states you can get one at the county clerks office, if not they will tell you where to go to get it. Basically your registering your business with the state.

Step four: get a cheep or free business banking checking account, run all of your business transactions thru it

Step five: get an accounting and book keeping system in place, keep good records

Step six: get a marketing plan and system in place, you need to market and sell the heck out of your business, if you have to choose between spending money on ads or paying yourself, buy ads.

Step seven: get to work on the basics essential to your business, if you need product make sure you have it, whatever you need to make things run get them and get to work.

If you are a business owner with some tips for someone starting out or have quesitons, fire away.

Glenlivet Goes Hillbilly

A WHISKY-making technique last used by "moonshiners" in the Highlands two centuries ago is to be revived at one of Scotland's leading distilleries.

"This whole area was infamous for the amount of illegal whisky being produced and, because of the remoteness of the area, it was always very difficult for the Customs and Excise people to come in and find where it was being made.

"And that meant the locals had time to make the best stuff and they gained a reputation for the flavour and the quality of whisky they were producing."

On one hand its single malt scotch, on the other its moonshine. The real question is “Will the Bloggerblaster drink it”? Only a future ATF will tell.

Women Claim Cash is not Important

News flash, women lie.

Women don't want millionaires. They don't want high-earners. In fact they don't even want a man with a salary.

A staggering 83 per cent of women questioned by First Direct said they would be happy to go out with a man who earned much less than them or was unemployed.

If these women weren’t flat out lying to the pollsters, something else happened. The poll managed to find women that only date convicts serving time in prison.

This Is News?

LONDON (AFP) - The French have been voted the world's most unfriendly nation by a landslide in a new British poll published. They were also voted the most boring and most ungenerous.

A decisive 46 percent of the 6,000 people surveyed by travellers' website Where Are You Now (WAYN) said the French were the most unfriendly nation people on the planet, British newspapers reported.

The Germans have no to reason to celebrate the damning verdict. They came second on all three counts.

It’s been a number of years since I was in France. The last time I visited I enjoyed and got along great with the people I met, except in Paris. Paris is a lot like New York except it’s inhabited by people who don’t bath or have any manners, even bad ones.

I Started Freaking Out

I read this tid bit on the Dow vs Gold. The basic premise of the piece is: that in terms of gold the value of American industrials has eroded and soon will be equal to what it was in 1929.

Here's an amazing fact: The Dow Jones Industrial Average today is cheaper than it was in 1966 in real-money (gold) terms. Despite all the talk of a “New Economy,” all we have witnessed is a paper revaluation, while the underlying corporate assets have deteriorated. Despite 40 years of supposed economic growth, the top 30 industrial companies of the United States have gone exactly nowhere in terms of their value in gold.

Now if that doesn’t get the old ticker pumping and motivate you for TSHTF, I don’t know what will. Before I restarted digging the bomb shelter and bunker, I got to thinking. The DJIA is only 30 stocks that change from time to time. What does a larger index look like, say the S & P 500. So I did the math.

The S&P has only been around since 1950 so I had to shorten up my time frame a bit. In Jan 1950 the index was 17.05 by Jan 2006 it was 1280.06. Using a base year of 1950 for inflation (CPI-U) the deflator in Jan 2006 had reached a whopping 319.76. Basically if it cost a buck in 1950 it now costs $7.75, now that’s inflation!

How does it compare? The average (median) Inflation rate for the last 57 years is 3.27% while the S&P index growth is 10.28% for the same period. Meaning that even factoring in inflation you still would be ahead 7.01% on the S&P.*

Over all in real dollar economic terms American industrials are suffering. I can’t dispute that. The total economic value of a larger cross section of US businesses isn’t nearly as gloomy as it appears. However, a 7% adjusted average returns in stocks isn’t as hot as the mid 90’s run up.

When calculating what you need in savings for retirement you might not want to use an average return of 12%, try something more conservative like 6%. This means you will have to save more to make your capitalization goals, and you’ll have to manage the portfolio more diligently.

*I saved my research as an excel file, if you want it email, you can check my math and method yourself.

What Beer Are You?

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world. Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them. When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well. But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

Civil Disobedience

The senior class at a southern Kentucky high school gave their response Friday night to a federal judge's order banning prayer at commencement.

About 200 seniors stood during the principal's opening remarks and began reciting the Lord's Prayer, prompting a standing ovation from a standing-room only crowd at the Russell County High School gymnasium.

Read the rest

The Kids are all right.

L.L.L.

One of the cool things about having a baby is you get to learn so much about science and biology that you never would have otherwise.

One of the not so cool things about having a baby is the pseudo-science moonbats that chase you down. I’m referring to the Mammary Nazi’s of das La Leche League. Before ya’ll start firing off pro mommy comments I admit:

1. Breast feeding is best, God made it that way for a reason.
2. Yes its possible to have a baby without a doctor, women have done it for thousands of years
3. You can have a baby without going in a hospital
4. Natural child birth, is natural i.e. normal thus the name
5. They do things differently in the third word

I know LLL types who are nice people, I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the zealot nut jobs who believe boobs are the answer (they are, but that’s recreation not procreation) to everything and modern medicine is voodoo.

If your 7 year old walks into the room and pulls your blouse up, pops your tit out and takes a swig, and neither he nor you care that I’m setting across the table, don't give me advice about anything, ever.

My response:

1. Doctors might not be needed 93% of the time to deliver a baby but isn’t it nice to have one handy the other 7%?
2. Hospitals aren’t totally necessary but they have all those doctors, and medicines and the machine that goes “ping” right there convenient like.
3. Sure you CAN have a baby without going to a hospital but what if you need one after? Isn’t it rude to make your doula drop her roach clip and drive to the hospital?
4. We intend to breast feed, but we will be stopping long before the kid is old enough to drink beer.
5. Sure things are different in Africa, they got diseases, they live in huts with their goats, half the people die before they make 50, they chop arms and legs off little kids if they don’t work hard enough in the mines: you like it so much move there.
6. I know what a large scale double blind medical research trail is. I’ve read several, my wife has read hundreds. When you email me a bunch of crap that I didn’t ask for, please feel free to include information from one to back up your point. Testimonials are great in advertising but I’m not risking my wife or my child on an old wives tale.

I’m done ranting, word em up.

Who Will GWB Side With?

Social Security for illegals OK'd

The U.S. Senate today rejected an effort to limit Social Security benefits for illegal aliens who become permanent residents under an immigration reform bill being debated.

As it stands, the bill the Senate is considering would give millions of illegals a path to U.S. citizenship if they pay fines, back taxes and meet other requirements.

The Social Security proposal, offered by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., would have prevented illegals who become legal from collecting the benefit on wages they earned while working unlawfully.

"Social Security was not intended for people who entered our country illegally," Ensign is quoted as saying.

Countered Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.: "Their money sits in the Social Security Administration waiting to be matched with an eligible beneficiary, and once those workers establish the eligibility, how in all fairness can we deny them the credit for their past contributions?"

Given GWB’s lack of a spine and his willingness to be bipartisan, (i.e. cave on conservative issues) who do you think he’ll back? Will he back a Senator from his own party and a conservative state or will it be his Hillary Care Prescription Drug coverage buddy from Massachusetts?

In other news, after Bush announced his “Amnesty Without Responsibility” ^tm immigration plan his approval rating dropped to 22%. Fortunately for Bush they’re conducting the polls in Spanish, and not asking about a green card before doing the survey. Among Americans here legally he’s reported to be doing much worse.

All Good Things Must End

It is "pretty clear" that the U.S. housing market is cooling off but it looks poised for a soft landing given overall strength in the economy, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

Some places it will be softer than others.

America is a nation that runs on debt. When interest rates go up the cost of credit goes up. When the price goes up demand goes down. Almost nobody was buying the 800 sq ft house for $500,000 with cash, they were mortgaging them. At some point even the dumbest topless dancer turned mortgage broker isn’t going to be able to justify a loan with a stratospheric DTI, on an imaginary appraised value.

The way it works in America is if you can’t make the payment you can’t have the goods. Higher interest rates, combined with falling real wage rates, means most people can’t make the payment. Sellers will have to lower their price if they want to sell the house.

That LO that sold you on doing an ARM and paying points, if you want to find her she’s back at her old job, working the pole.

This is Going to Help Stop Terrorism How?

Under little-noticed rules that kick in this year, the Treasury Department is requiring mutual fund firms and insurers to report you to Uncle Sam if they note a "suspicious" transaction that might relate to money laundering or terrorism.

The new rules emerged from the post-Sept. 11 Patriot Act. The law required financial institutions to adopt programs to fight money laundering. It also gave the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is part of Treasury, more authority to regulate these programs.

As someone who’s spent most of his post college life working in the financial services industry, I’ve filled out my share of SAR’s.

Its total crap. Not one SAR has ever accomplished anything to protect national security. They are however a very effective way to alert other branches of the bureaucracy to what your doing. Branches like the IRS, Dept of Family services, probate court, HUD, FHA, SEC, etc.

It will never protect us from Bin Laden but it will create a paper trail for the sniveling enforcement classes to follow and attach suspicion to. I can think of at least 8 methods off the top of my head that a terrorist could use to defeat this so called safe guard. If I can think of em so can every other banker that might be inclined to help for a cut.

Once Upon a Time in Baseball…

A CLASS ACT
Outfielder Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs dashes between two men in the Dodger Stadium outfield in Los Angeles, in this April 25, 1976 photo, snatching an American flag the men were about to burn.
By Jim Roark, Los Angeles Herald Examiner via AP

Flag-saving moment still winning salutes
Updated 4/25/2006 2:49 AM ET By Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY

The hand was trembling, the voice was quivering and tears were running down his face.

The World War II soldier, who survived the Pearl Harbor attack, looked Rick Monday in the eyes, slowly raised his right arm, and saluted him.

"Thank you," Monday recalls the soldier telling him last year. "And thank you from all of my shipmates."

Thirty years ago today, Monday became an American hero.

It was the day he saved the American flag.

"It was the greatest heroic act that's ever happened on a baseball field," Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda said. "He protected the symbol of everything that we live for. And the symbol that we live in the greatest country in the world."

The Hall of Fame recently voted Monday's act as one of the 100 classic moments in the history of the game. Monday, who spent 19 years in the major leagues and is a Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster, will be honored tonight with a video tribute at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

They'll replay a grainy videotape that was discovered in 1984 showing two people jumping over the railing in left field and spreading the American flag onto the Dodger Stadium turf. One man dousing the flag with lighter fluid. The other lighting a match. And Monday, playing for the Chicago Cubs, running in from center field, grabbing the flag and carrying it to safety.

They'll play Vin Scully's voice from the radio broadcast: "Wait a minute, there's an animal loose. Two of them! I'm not sure what he's doing out there. It looks like he's going to burn a flag. ..

"And Rick Monday runs and takes it away from him!"

And perhaps the crowd will duplicate the same reaction as 30 years ago: sitting in stunned silence, then standing, cheering and spontaneously singing God Bless America.

"It moved the entire crowd," Monday said. "I don't remember if we won or lost the game, but I'll never forget the people singing."

Monday, 60, a six-year veteran of the Marine Corps Reserves, still receives letters each week about the incident. Most are from military veterans, others from kids wanting to learn about American history.

"The world has changed," Monday said. "We weren't that far removed from Vietnam at the time. But what they were trying to do in 1976 was wrong. It's still wrong today.

"That little piece of cloth represents a lot of rights and freedoms that people have given up their lives to protect."

"It was a dramatic day, and a day that made you proud to be in baseball," Commissioner Bud Selig said.

Today, questions remain:

Why did these protesters, William Thomas, 36, and his 11-year-old son run onto the field to burn the flag? They were arrested and fined $60. Monday said he never was interested in asking. Attempts to locate Thomas, or to determine whether he's still alive, were unsuccessful.

What happened to the photographer, James Roark, of the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner, who shot the only photo of the incident? Roark, whose photo was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, lost his job, became a night cook in Portland and was beaten and killed outside a restaurant in 1995. He was 49.

And the tattered flag that was soaked with lighter fluid? It's in Monday's possession in a safe-deposit box, surviving the hurricanes near his Vero Beach, Fla., home. He was offered $1 million for the flag several years ago, he said, but rejected the overture.

"The flag is faded, and it's somewhat tattered," Monday said. "It wasn't like it was just bought off the shelf. It wasn't in great shape from the start.

"But the flag is not for sale. What this flag represents, you can't buy."

We Don’t Need No Education

Oklahoma is for pussies. Ungrateful, worthless, unappreciative, public school bureaucrats, that likely can’t find Iraq on a world map with six continents blacked out shouldn’t be allowed to decide the dress code of America’s finest young men in service to their country. You’d like to think that this couldn’t happen in small town America.

From KOTV news.

One Holdenville graduate is celebrating an accomplishment of his own. Michael Lueking just graduated Marine boot camp after 13 grueling weeks. He planned it around his high school graduation and he made a special request of school officials. "I asked 'em five, six months ago if I could wear my dress blues, and they said they'd think about it."

At the home of the fighting Wolverines, the football stadium to be packed on Friday. But Michael and his family don't know if they'll be here. "They're threatening to not let me walk across the stage in my dress blues. The main thing I guess was yesterday when he went down to the school and the principal said, no, he wanted everyone to wear cap and gown."

Pvt Lueking made his choice.

Holdenville, OK (AP) - A U-S Marine graduates from Holdenville High School, but isn't able to walk across the stage with his fellow graduates.

During last night's ceremony, Michael Lueking stood in the stands in his dress blues uniform. School officials had told Lueking he wouldn't be able to participate in the ceremony if he refused to wear the school's standard royal blue cap and gown.

Holdenville Superintendent Shellie Gammill says she couldn't bend the policy or else exceptions would have to be made for other students.

Would it be such a freaking hardship on the school to let men who earned the right to wear an Army, Navy or Air Force uniform to walk at graduation?

Semper Fidelis Marine! I appreciate your service and your stand. You earned your nations uniform, your countrymen’s respect and THE RIGHT to wear your EGA and Blues. I salute you, and I thank you for your service.

Superintendent Gammill, I salute you too, the great big one finger salute.

You Gotta be Kidding

Woman Shoots Gator That Attacks Her Dog
By The Associated Press

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - A woman has shot an alligator that came into her home and attacked her dog.

The alligator was only 3 feet long, but Candy Frey wasn't taking any chances. When the reptile came into the lanai of her home east of Bradenton Saturday and attacked her golden retriever, Frey went and got her gun.

After Frey and her daughter managed to push the gator out of the lanai through the dog door, she blasted away at it four times.

"I was running on so much adrenaline," the 48-year-old former U.S. Marine aviation technician told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "I just freaked out and shot him - boom, boom, boom, boom."

A neighbor called deputies and the state sent a wildlife officer to investigate.

The alligator barely bled from gunshots to the neck and shoulder, Frey said, and wildlife officer put it back in the lake.

The deputy gave Frey a warning citation for hunting without a license.

Alligators have been blamed for three fatal attacks in the span of a week in other parts of Florida.

Some dumb cop gave a 48 year old women a ticket for hunting gators without a license. The reptile was in her freaking house attacking her dog! Whats next giving her a ticket for baiting gators out of season?

White Trash Wednesday

I thought I’d participate with the Hillbilly Ecosystem and help out with a post or two about something I feel qualified to blog on, White Trash of the World. You might think that white trash is just Sothern or just American but that aint so. The world is full of white trash. When it comes to white trash with bad teeth England leads the way. Looking for white trash that don’t bath and gots kinky sex problems, go to France. It’s a myth to think White Trash and Poor White Trash are the same thing. White Trash might be poor or they might not. The Kennedy’s of Massachusetts aint poor, but they White Trash.

Just to explain: Old man Joe Kennedy was a bootlegger, not a bad start on the white trash road. His kids went into politics, a profession full of ignorant white trash. One boy, in a drunken stupor, drowned a girl he knocked up in his car. Ted Kennedy might never stood on his front porch and screamed to the mailman “where’s my check”, but he’s made it possible for millions of others to do it. Proof positive in my book, that they is a family of white trash and white trash enablers.

That’s the great thing about America our white trash can make it to be governor, president or even a junior senator from New York. This week were featuring some American White Trash.

Direct from New Orleans:

This girl is doing her best to make it as white trash, that or a supporter of the Duke Lacrosse team.

* If’n I posted a pic of ur kin and I offended them email and I’ll take it down, no need to get the shotgun, unless they’ve been on Springer, in that case they’re in the public domain as certified white trash.

*********************
Go ahead and vote. Is the Girl in the Pic:
a.) White Trash
b.) Wanna be White Trash
c.) Ted Kennedy’s dream date
d.) Practicing potables diversity by promoting Jack and Cuervo

Bush’s Border Plan

From the folks at Day by Day.

The Doctor Says…

Everything is going to be ok. The wounds are healing nicely; there is no sign of infection or other complication. None of the shots Mrs. Ipsa had should affect anything with the baby.

So far the owners of the dog that did this are acting responsibly. They’ve asked the hospital to send the bill directly to them. As long as they continue to handle the situation and no new complications arise we’re not planning on suing them. I don’t know what the sheriffs department is going to do. Nor do I care. The folks put their dog down and are trying to make things right, beyond that its not the laws business.

Thanks to ya’ll for your kind words and prayers. A special thanks to Spacebunny who took the time to look up some medical information and put my mind to ease about the baby’s health.

CON-gress woman McKinney – Again

Awhile back I posted about the Race Card that Linda at SoG made up. Well it seems someone gave one to the congress women, from the pic you’d think she loved it.

As a further public service to congress women McKinney and to race baiters everywhere we have a instructional video from Chris Schoolhouse Rock.

Warning: this is Chris Rock sometimes he uses bad words. Ok, mostly he uses bad words.

Dog Bite Update

Mrs. Ipsa stayed home from work today and kept to the couch as per doctors orders. She seems to be doing better physically but she’s still pretty shook up emotionally.

What happened was during her walk this morning the guy who owns the dogs had let them out of his apartment, they saw my wife walking on the far side of the street and charged her. She was bitten three times that broke skin; twice in the leg and once in the groin.

When she came in the bedroom to wake me at 5:30 to get her to the hospital she was wearing her white sweats and was covered in blood. That made the injury look much worse and prompted a record time drive to the ER. In case you’re wondering it is possible to hit 6000 rpms with a 3.0 litter 6 cylinder engine, and lay rubber shifting from 4^th to 5^th at 75 mph.

Once at the hospital Mrs. Ipsa’s co-workers took good care of her. The dogs owner showed up with the dog and its shot record. He informed me that this was the second time his dog had bit someone and he asked me if I wanted to see the dog. That was how I found out it was a pit-bull.

The sheriffs deputy showed up, took pictures and did some paperwork. He informed me that they would be pressing charges against the owner since this was a second offense. Right now I’m uncertain what from those charges will take, it will be a ticket at a minimum, beyond that I don’t know. We will not be pressing the issue further than what the county does at this time.

Animal control called us this afternoon to tell us that they put the dog down. Since the dogs rabies shots were up to date they didn’t have to keep it for observation. The dogs owner made the request to put the dog down.

We have an doctors apt on Monday for the baby. In ER they said the baby’s heart rate was OK. Mrs. Ipsa said the baby has been kicking a lot but she doesn’t know if this means anything. Unfortunately Mrs. Ipsa didn’t have her tetanus and some other shots up to date and they had to give them to her in ER. I have no idea what, if any, effect this might have on the baby.

We should know more Monday afternoon.

Thank you for the kind words, prayers and emails.

Tiergartenstrasse 4

In 1990 I was hanging with friends in Munich. Breakfast that day was 3 or 4 full size steins of Hoffbrau. I mention this youthful alcoholic encounter only to explain that I was well buzzed by 11 am. At percislly 11:11 (I checked my watch) I was stone cold sober.

I had entered the gates of Dachau.

This morning I had that same feeling when reading this, from NRO.

Judicial Watch's report on the topic has a lot of eye-opening information, but the letter from Ron Weddington, the co-counsel on Roe v. Wade, to President-elect Bill Clinton is especially worth checking out. It's on pages 61-64.

A sampling:

[Y]ou can start immediately to eliminate the barely educated, unhealthy and poor segment of our country. No, I'm not advocating some sort of mass extinction (sic) of these unfortunate people. Crime, drugs and disease are already doing that. The problem is that their numbers are not only replaced but increased by the birth of millions of babies to people who can't afford to have babies. There, I've said it. It's what we all know is true. . . .

I am not proposing that you send federal agents armed with Depo-Provera dart guns to the ghetto. You should use persuasion rather than coercion. . . . You made a good start when you appointed Dr. Elders, but she will need a lot of help. . . .

[G]overnment is also going to have to provide vasectomies, tubal ligations and abortions. . . . There have been about 30 million abortions in this country since Roe v. Wade. Think of all the poverty, crime and misery. . . and then add 30 million unwanted babies to the scenario. We lost a lot of ground during the Reagan-Bush religious orgy. We don't have a lot of time left.

We don't need more cannon fodder. We don't need more parishioners. We don't need more cheap labor. We don't need more poor babies

People today throw around comparisons to the Nazi’s a little to frequently. However, this memo is stricking similier to The T-4 Euthanasia Program. Read it for your self and draw your own conclusions. Here is the full Judicial Watch Report, investigate the original material for yourself. Thanks to Hillbilly White Trash for pointing this story out.

I have a suggestion for Hillary’s campaign slogan: “Not as bad as Nazi’s, but give us a chance”.

Pit Bull

Mrs. Ipsa walks/jogs about five miles each morning before work. In the winter she uses the treadmill of Nordic track. The weather has finely gotten nice enough that she can walk the neighborhood.

Today she was charged by 2 pit pulls. The first bit her three times in an effort to take her down. The second held back and didn’t bite. I rushed my wife to ER. They say she’ll be OK but they are concerned about the possibility of infection. The baby’s heart beat is OK, we have a regularly scheduled OB/Gyn apt on Monday. We think the baby should be ok, your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

The dogs owner seems to be willing to take responsibility and do right by the situation.

Why Archie?

The TV character Archie Bunker’s personality was based on my Great-grandfather, on my mother’s mother side. The personality was the only thing they modeled after him. His politics were totally different from Archie Bunker.

Here’s a little family secret, so don’t go blabbing it about to the revenuers. My Great-grandfather was an honest to goodness bootlegger. Being French-Canadian (another deep dark family secret, much worse than breaking a stupid law) he had family on the Canadian side of the boarder who’d put together a booze shipment. Then he’d run it across on boat and take it into the cities. Mostly he ran whiskey, sometimes beer. I’ve been told his personal favorite was a brand called “Imperial”. I know they still make the stuff but I’ve never been able to lay my hands on a bottle.

Anyway he was an untrusting grumpy soul even latter in life. I think the ending of prohibition was the greatest disappointment he ever faced. He got a job in the factories in the 30’s and saw the building up of the UAW. After he had to get honest work, he never seemed to have more than a few bucks. Which is why I think he sat around and groused about everything that the government was screwing up

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Take the test and let us know how you did.

Going Ex-Pat

Taylor Asks:

“Is there any country in the world that has the kind of government that you would approve of?”

Yes, there are quite a few. Most nations are more friendly towards the citizens of other countries than they are towards their native population, including the U.S. That’s why the U.S. offers programs with better tax breaks to foreigners, than our citizens can participate in. For instance, foreign investment isn’t taxed at all or at a much reduced rate, small businesses set up by immigrants aren’t subject to federal income tax for a period of up to 7 years.

Most other nations have similar programs to attract new investment or companies to their shores. The trick is to find the nation that fits you best.

The key to finding freedom in another nation is fitting in and living independently of the social welfare system in that country.

Fitting in means, becoming a member of that society and not sticking out like a sore thumb. Learn the language AND the customs, enjoy and participate in the things that most people in that country enjoy. Be able to make intelligent small talk. Don’t be an ugly American. Dress like they dress, eat what they eat, drink what they drink, be and act like any other member of that country. Under no circumstances should you try to change them to be more “American” or act like the way you did it at home was better.

Living independently means not needing the hosting nation’s social benefits system, and having a source of income. Many nations require you to prove that you have a minimum monthly income before they will allow you to live there full time. There are 3 generally accepted routes to do this:

1. A local company hires you and sponsors you for a “essential worker” visa
2. You’re a investor coming to establish a business
3. You have a independent source of income

If you can live independently and fit in you’ll find most countries are more than willing to let you live in peace. More so than your native land.

A New (Hillbilly) Order

When I started looking into doing this blog thing I got lots of advice. One thing I was told to do was get listed with some blog roll service to attract more traffic to the site.

A few of ya’ll that I visit are with “The Alliance” so I did that one. After 3 months I still can’t get them to list me even though I’ve done everything they’ve asked. They’re just to hi faluten to list a red-neck.

I found a blog-roll that I fit in with just fine.

I recommend ya’ll check em out too.

Here’s My Donation

I’ve supported the RNC financially over the years, gone to fund raising dinners, met higher ups in the party, participated in focus groups, lobbied etc. Here’s a way to support them that is in line with how they view us loyal Americans.
From Sacred Cow Burgers.

****UPDATE*****

You can click the pic and view the image and print it out.

You may send contributions via mail to:

The Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE,
Washington DC 20003

For a Return Address use your own or:

Res Ipsa Loquitor
704 Houser St.
Blogspot.com
Los Estados Unidos de América

They Did It to Themselves

I say old man we screwed the pooch this time.

In Rochdale, people who have no dentist but who are in dire straits can visit an emergency clinic that very day — provided they can get an appointment. The phones open at 8 a.m.; the books are closed by about 8:10.

The waiting room at the center was a testament to his concerns. Sitting by the window was George Glasper, 81. One of Mr. Glasper's teeth had broken off a week earlier, but when he called his dentist, he was told the practice had become a private one. Efforts to sign up with four other dentists failed, he said.

Nearby sat Shahana Begum, 27, a Bangladeshi immigrant with a bad toothache and no dentist. Her stepdaughter, Sanya Karim, 16, said her family had been trying to find a health service dentist for six years, since moving to Rochdale from Birmingham.

The American left wants British style health care. They’ve got to be out of their mind.

This is what happens when a service becomes “free”. The quality goes to pot, the good providers refuse to play and the queue to get service from the remaining providers is more than six years long!

Yet in America they still cry out for socialized medicine. Hillary will campaign on it. Like Ted Kennedy said about Bush’s socialized drug plan, “it’s a down payment”; meaning, one small step for G. Bush, one giant step for K. Marx.

GWB and his ilk: Representing the Ted Kennedy branch of the Republican Party, since day one.

"People and Mistakes"

People who do lots of work...
make lots of mistakes

People who do less work...
make less mistakes

People who do no work...
make no mistakes

People who make no mistakes...
gets promoted

That's why I spend most of my time sending e-mails & playing games at work
I need a promotion.

Monday is normally a bear of a day for me for getting things lined up for the week. Today I had to take care of some bookkeeping items for an organization that I do some work for. They received a disconnect notice for a utility bill that I paid. After 1 hour on the phone with the collections department they discovered the problem. Thirty eight cents, that’s right, 38 pennies from 3 months ago that hadn’t been paid. Apparently the check I cut was short, 3 MONTHS AGO. All they had to do was add it to the bill and I would have paid it. The stamp to mail out the disconnect notice cost 39 cents. Now I’m an extra hour behind for the day. How am I gonna find time to play some Tetris or come up with a good blog post?

Boycott Cinco De Mayo

Cinco de Mayo or the Fifth of May commemorates the 1862 victory by Mexican forces, including ordinary citizens, over French soldiers. The battle known as La Batalla de Puebla, took place on May 5th.

The holiday is of little importance in Mexico. It has a much larger following north of the boarder. In the US it’s become a commercial success for sellers of taco’s, tequila and cheep near skunk beer.

What is it we’re celebrating? In 1862 a bunch of half-starved Mexican peasants opened up a can of whoop-ass on the French. Big deal. Lots of nations have kicked French butt over the years. The Germans did it twice. Last month the religion of peace nearly burnt half their country down.

Beating the French isn’t reason for a party, its par for the course. What exactly have the Mexicans done for us that we should celebrate their minor accomplishment?

1. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.
   
2. 29% of inmates in federal prisons are illegal aliens.
   
3. Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.
   
4. 36% of illegal aliens are on welfare. The cost of immigration to the American taxpayer in 1997 was a NET (after subtracting taxes immigrants pay) $70 BILLION a year.
5. The lifetime fiscal impact (taxes paid minus services used) for the average adult Mexican immigrant is a NEGATIVE.
   

I’m boycotting Cinco de Mayo this year. It’s a non-holiday about a non-event celebrated by non-Americans, in an unmanly way.

Yes I said unmanly. The two most common libations are margaritas and Corona. Margaritas are a foo-foo chick drink, except when sexually confused foo-foo male hairdressers are quaffing them. In Mexico Corona is a chick beer, marketed to and sold to women. It got popular in the US because of Tom Cruise. Arguably a nut job if not light in his loafers.

Corona’s a chick beer and the Mexicans I know laugh every time they see a gringo order one. If you must drink Mexican beer, be a man about it and crack open a Negra Modelo, Dos Eques or a pulque. Beer that requires a slice of fruit isn’t something a man should be sucking on. If you must celebrate un-American holidays at least don’t embarrass yourself by quaffing queer.

Stagflation

Where is the US economy headed? In a word: Stagflation.

From Wikipeda: “Stagflation is a term in macroeconomics used to describe a period characteristic of high inflation combined with economic stagnation, unemployment, or economic recession.”

In the 1970’s we saw a period of economic reversals brought on by several factors, including a spike in: energy prices, gold, inflation rates and the CPI. Then in August of 1981, thanks to Paul Volcker we saw the yield curve invert. I’m not sure we’re going to see Bernanke flip the curve, since he’s currently raising rates. Checking the US Treasury CMT rates for May, I noticed that while they are mostly flat, 1yr=5.00% and 30yr=5.23% the 20yr=5.38%, that’s a mere 230bps spread on the 1 to 30 yrs and an inverted yield of 150bps on a 20 to 30 yr.

Either way, the escalating federal debt and budget deficit, are going to eat up a greater portion of the GDP than they already do.

Another issue on the burner is the continuing changing of definitions and data that needs to be compiled in government and central bank economic reports. In a press release last year the Federal Reserve Bank, announced it would discontinue reporting M3 money supply data. The official reason was that it was too costly and “convey any additional information”. Some of the M3 data will still be reported for the benefit of commercial banks in the z.1 and h.8 reports.

Economist John Williams over at Shadow Statistics gives the official government economic stats at: “annual inflation is running less than 3.5%, unemployment is less than 5%, annual GDP growth is about 3.5%, and the 2005 federal deficit was $318 billion” while his figures have the stats running; “annual inflation is over 8%, unemployment is around 12%, and annual GDP growth is flat.”

To put this in perspective, the Misery Index in 1976 was 13.57%. In 1980 when Regan ran against Carter it was 21.98%. If Mr. Williams is right, it now stands at 20% and is staged to go higher.

In other words, Stagflation is upon us.