Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you my friends.  I hope you are enjoying your day with those who are dear to you.  May the turkey be moist and tender and the pies abundant and delicious.  May your diet be forgotten, at least till Monday.

1,000

This is my 1,000th post.

When I started this blog, I had a couple of goals or if not a goal at least an idea bouncing around in the back of my head as to what I wanted to do.

One of those ideas was that based on the other blogs and political writing I had been reading, I decided that it couldn't be that hard to match what others were doing.  I still feel that way, however, I find it hard to care enough about those issues to try.

I suppose another idea I had was that a blog might be a source of cash flow.  I gave up on that idea fairly early on.  Marketing my brain droppings would have taken too much of my time.

Which leads me into another one of my reasons for starting a blog, professional development.  I thought that blogging would be a great way to develop a useful skill that would help round me out as a modern professional.  I suppose I have developed a small skill that might be useful.  There is one tiny problem.  I blog from my political perspective.  I'm not politically correct.  The internet is one place that you can get away with that, at least to a degree.  This means that I chose not to tell anyone from Real Life, about my net persona.  Those of you that know me as Res Ipsa and have met me in real life have an advantage over my real life acquaintances, with the exception of my wife, no one from RL knows about my blogging.  This makes my "net skills" useless since I chose not to point anyone to my blog.

One of my other goals was to polish my writing.  Looking back over this last month I see that I have clearly failed.  It seems I still have several bad habits.  Frustrating Water Boy was never a specific goal for my blogging, however it has become a by product. The fault is mine.  I still like to assume ideas that I haven't presented are linked to things I'm writing about without the inconvenience of developing everything that is pertinent to the topic.  They're is som spel chexer an usege isues that I never mastered in my 5th grade skool dayz.  (Yes all of that was intentional. I know, sometimes you have your doubts).

I wanted to see what would happen to my traffic if I wrote an average of 1 post per day for the year.  This went pretty well for the first few months I tried it.  I doubled and ever tripled my blog traffic.  The biggest problem is that I have kids, home school and work the night shift.  Keeping up with the blogging and producing something marginally worth reading was a lower priority than those other things.  I suspect that I could grow the blog considerably on a two post a day schedule.  As far as that goes, it seems that a post view count of 1,200 to 1,500 is about what is needed to get a decent conversation going in the comments.  Right now, I don't have the desire to put in that kind of effort.  So unless some other curmudgeonly minded writer wants to start guest posting here, I'm going to have to be satisfied with my 100 to 300 visitors a day.

Thank you for dropping by over the years and reading what I have to say.  I intend to keep plugging away at it.

The Boy Will go Far

The seven-year old girl told her mom, “A boy in my class asked me to play doctor.”

“Oh, dear,” the mother nervously sighed. “What happened, honey?”

“Nothing, he made me wait 45 minutes and then double-billed the insurance company.”

Obummer Care and the Media

I saw this story on WND.

Insurance cancels family with 2 cancer kids

GAINESVILLE, TEXAS -- A Gainesville family is fighting for their childrens' lives.

Ronald and Krista Alford's two children, Hunter and Mikayla, were born with extremely rare types of cancer.

News 12's Allison Harris brings us their story of struggle and strength.

Hunter Alford is due for his next round of chemo.

As of right now, his mom Krista says, he's unlikely to get it.

"Since his insurance was dropped, we're thinking about cancelling his chemotherapy," Krista Alford said.

The Alford's are in a battle with children's medicaid -- or CHIP -- Hunter's insurance.

Krista says, despite receiving a new, renewed insurance card, the agency told her they dropped his insurance.

"I called them and they said we were dropped October 31st," Krista said.

Krista says an insurance agent told her that Hunter's information got lost when they made changes under the new Affordable Care Act.

Now, Krista is on a mission to re-gain that insurance, but they're running out of time before his next chemo treatment, and the agent says they can't expedite.

"The lady's like, the only way we can expedite is if your son was pregnant and in labor, or if he was an illegal," Krista said. 

I could point out the total irrationality of the situation.  We could focus on how Obummer (and everyone involved in writing this legislation) lied through his teeth.  I could make some points about Democrats are the party of death.  Instead I think you should Google this story.

120,000 hits.  Go through some of those.  How many are major media outlets covering this story?  Now imagine a Republican was responsible for Obummer (lack of) Care.  It could be any republican, but lets say his name is Bush.  If Bush was in office, and his polling numbers were in the toilet, what would the media report?  Lets face it Hitler's numbers were better than Obama's, and they have the same agenda, National Socialism and a oppressive police state. 

Back to Bush.  If the political situation were the same as what Obummer is facing would the media remain quite?  I think not.  The media would be running this story into the ground.  There would be celebrities lined up doing fund raising to save Hunter.  Michel Moore would put down his big mac and coke long enough to do a mockumentery about the evils of the new health law.  We would witness a media full court press in an effort to 1. Blame the jackass who passed the law, and 2. Get the law repealed.

We might even hear the truth about Obummer Care.  Its not about getting medical care for people who need it.  It's about stealing from the poor to give to the rich.  Any sick kids that might die because of it be damned.  The agenda is more important than the lives of "we the people".  Which is why the media will never tell the truth.

JFK, If....

Today is the 50th Anniversary of the assignation of the 35th President of the United States.  There is much being made about the loss of America's innocence.  How this day changed the country and of course tons of conspiracy theories.  The only thing we know about the assignation is that the official story is a lie.  I suspect that is all we will ever know about that topic.

Kennedy grew up a rich kid in America.  He had the best opportunities and he made the most of them.  When war came, he did his part.  He even earned the Navy and Marine Corps medal for his efforts in WWII. 

The "if only" comments that are floating around annoy me.  As in "if only" JFK had lived then, (insert favorite cause here), all would be well in the world.  BS.  JFK would be unelectable in 21st century America.  He was down with a balanced budget AND lowering taxes.  Sure he was known to be banging a movie star but that wouldn't be enough.  Kennedy and Regan were very much alike politically, we will never see the like of them in office again.

Results Matter

An Army SSGT was chauffeur to a major who was a notorious womanizer. One day, the major saw a lovely girl walk by.

“Turn the car around,” he ordered.

The driver promptly stalled the car. By the time he got it restarted, the girl had vanished around the corner.

“Driver,” barked the major, “you’d be useless in an emergency.”

“I thought I did pretty well,” the driver said. “That was my girlfriend.”

Religious Squabble or Insight?

As I've gotten older my religious views have changed a good bit.  As a young man I enjoyed religious "debate".  It wasn't really debate or particularly religious, it was more arguing in an attempt to make some else look bad. What I engaged in wasn't even "Christian" in any sense of the word.  It was doctrinal one-up-man-ship with a bible.

In my defense, I thought that people went to the church they did, because they had studied the doctrines and articles of that faith and fully embraced them on an intellectual basis.  It was only latter in my life that I came to the realization that most people go whatever church they do, because of totally different reasons.  They give almost no thought at all as to what the core "belief system" is. 

This "evolution" (if I can use that word) in my thinking has allowed me to separate my perception of people form the perception of their church.  In some cases this has been for the better (Catholics and Calvinists) in some cases for the worse (Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses).

The Roman Catholic Church was for me, an easy target.  Face it, the reformation movement has been compiling source material against Catholics for about 500 years.  Catholics were easy pickings when it came to taking pot shots.  Unfortunately, it was hard to make headway with them.  I think this was because of: 1. They had no idea what the church believed and 2. it didn't matter anyway.  There is a third reason.  In high school most of my drinking buddies were Catholic.  I was wise enough not to risk loosing my source of underage booze by pressing too hard in a debate.  You might say I was as vulnerable morally as they were doctrinally.

It was back in 1980 something when I was having one of these little talks with a Catholic acquaintance of mine that a rather good counter point was made, one that has stuck with me ever since. I don't remember the exact words but the point was that the Catholic church taught and fought for the right to life, from natural birth to natural death.  My church didn't teach much on those topics and I was at a lose for a come back.

As much as one can mock (and I'm guilty of it) the pope on condoms etc. I have to admit that I've come to accept the basic premise of the Catholic position on human life, personhood and public policy on these matters.  In fact I respect and even embrace the traditional Catholic position on this subject more than I do that of my own church.

That's why I was taken back this last week when I was reading Pat Buchanan's article titled "Papal Neutrality in the Culture War".  If Mr. Buchanan is right and the Pope is really leading the Catholic church in the direction that it appears, then things are in a real mess.  It was the Catholics that spurred the protestants forward on the topics of traditional marriage, abortion and euthanasia, not the other way around.  If the RCC is retreating form the culture war, they soon will have nothing left to offer, except a place to go on Christmas and Easter where people can feel nostalgic about the past.

That would be a real shame.

Notable Quotable

Four  hundred years ago this was comedy.  The more things change....

“Do you not know I am woman? When I think, I must speak.”

- Shakespeare

Lawn Ornament

Customer at a counter of a lawn ornament shop:

"Give me four of those pinwheels, two of those pink flamingos, two of the sunflowers, and one of those bent-over grandma in bloomers."

Cashier reply's:

"That'll be eight dollars for the pinwheels, ten dollars for the flamingos, six dollars for the sunflowers, and an apology to my wife!"

11th hour of the 11th day...

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month World War 1 ended.  This was little comfort to Henry Gunther.  Henry, an American solider died at 10:59 11/11/18.  He was charging a German position in an effort to gain as much territory as possible before the end of the war.  The Germans were surprised, the war was supposed to be over.  They were not so surprised as to not fight back, which they did, killing Henry.

The negotiations to end WW1 had started on the evening Nov 7th.  The Germans wanted an immediate cease fire even begging General Foch for it.  It was more important to obtain the significant date of 11-11-11 than to end hostilities.  While the armistice wasn't the conclusion of the war it was designed to make the German surrender as humiliating as possible.  By the early morning hours of Nov 8th the time, date and terms were agreed upon.  The German delegation went home to obtain ratification, believing they had reached a deal in principle. 

The allied leadership made a conscience effort to pursue hostilities in the field.  It was decided that all force would be brought to bear right up to the very minute the armistice went into effect.  Thousands of allied troops died trying to take land the morning of Nov 11th, land that they would be able to walk over freely in the afternoon.

After the war Nov 11th was known as Armistice Day.  As time went on it became clear that the "war to end all wars", wasn't.  Nov 11th became known as Veterans Day. 

I honor our Vets.  I honor the training, the boredom and tedium, and the period out of your life you spent in service to our country.  I realize you made this choice for your own reasons.  I also realize that I enjoy some benefits from your service and I thank you.

I abhor the mindset of our leadership.  This is not a reflection on those who are honor bound to obey their orders.  I see no reason to believe that the powers that be have become any wiser in the last 95 years, or that human life is held any more dear.

NWA Was Right (again)

Is it now illegal to be a MAN and a police officer?  No honest to God man would do what cops in Louisiana did.

Riley Miller's daddy might have died Nov 1 in house fire.  It is possible.  Perhaps that's what the cops thought they were protecting Ryan Miller from when they tasered handcuffed and locked him up in a police car while his one year old son died looking for his mommy and daddy in their burning home.

Firefighters later discovered the body of Riley Miller near the doorway to a bedroom.

It's true I have no idea what the exact situation was at the time of the incident.  I don't know how high the flames were or how bad the smoke was.  I also have no idea why they didn't get the kid out when they got out.

One thing I do I know and believe with all my hart.  Ryan Miller is endowed by God with the right to his life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  Ryan Miller and only Ryan Miller owns his life.  It is his, given to him for good or ill, by the creator of the universe.  Would he have thrown it way running into that house?  God knows, I don't.  The point is, it was his to risk as he saw fit.  Sometimes men die after they run into a burning building.  Sometimes they save a life.  Sometimes the life they are protecting is worth more to them than their own.  That's the way it is supposed to be.

I don't know if Ryan Miller would have become a hero or another statistic if he went back into his burning house.  By all that is Holy, he should have been allowed to do it.

 

Preacher's Son

An old country preacher had a teenage son, and it was getting high time the boy gave some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men his age, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it.

One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects:

1. A Bible,

2. A silver dollar,
3. A bottle of whiskey,
4. And a Playboy magazine.

"I'll just hide behind the door," the old preacher said to himself, "and when he comes home from school, I'll see which object he picks up. If it's the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a business man, and that would be okay, too. But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunken bum, and Lord, what a shame that would be. And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine, he's going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer."

The old man waited anxiously and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room, he spotted the objects on the table. He walked over to inspect them, looking at each for several minutes. Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver dollar and dropped into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink, while he admired this month's centerfold.

"Lord have mercy!" the old preacher prayed. "He's going into politics!!"

What Men Like in Men

Hereafter follows something I never thought I would post: An excerpt from an essay first published in Cosmopolitan Magazine.

[I]t will clear the ground a little if we first discover what it is that men dislike in men.

I suppose that every man who is a man would readily agree that he dislikes a “Sissy”; but it is doubtful whether most persons could give off-hand a really comprehensive definition of what a Sissy really is…

The subject of Sissyism is really very interesting – first because there are so many Sissies in the world, and in the second place because only a very small number of them are usually recognized as being such.

Real men hate sissies. Check.

This kind of Sissy is the kind that men dislike – and women too; and the reason for it when you get down to the last analysis, is that in everything he is somehow incomplete. He tries to do as others do, and yet he never rings quite true. 

Women hate sissies too.  Check.

The traits in which this type of Sissy is most lacking are the traits which men most like in men. And yet this is a very negative description. Moreover we must distinguish between the man who is merely “popular” with others, and the man who is really liked, the man to whom other men will go not only in their jovial moods but in their serious ones as well, the man for whom they will make sacrifices and of whose friendship they are really proud.  Deep down there must be something more fundamental in order that a man may grasp and hold the hearts of other men. These vital attributes are few in number, and with the exception of just one they do not need much more than a mere mention.

Men worth admiring aren't sissies.  Check.

First of all, a man must be what other men call “square” – which implies that he must have a sense of honor.

The foundation of it all is justice – the most masculine of virtues, and the only one in which no woman ever had a share.

Allied to it is reasonableness, another virtue that appeals to men when found in other men. It involves a number of related qualities, and most of all a sense of humor which throws a clear light of its own upon so many difficulties, and sets things in their true proportions, and shows how small the small things really are.

Then there is courage, without which man is not a man; and generosity, which really is an element of reasonableness; and with these, modesty, which, while it quietly conceals the other traits, does in the end enhance their value and increase the charm which they possess. And dignity, which many would not name or think of, is a most important element in the character of the man whom other men most like. For dignity is not to be confounded with its counterfeits – with stiffness or pomposity, or even with reserve. It is the touch of self-respect which exists in every fine character and which is never consciously assertive but which even the most careless spirit can feel and recognize.

 Men admire character.  Check.

What then is the conclusion? Men like in men these traits: the honor that ennobles; the justice that insures the right; the reasonableness that mellows and makes plain; the courage that proclaims virility; the generous instinct that disdains all meanness; the modesty that makes no boast; the dignity that wins respect; the fineness and the tenderness that know and feel. But when one thinks of it more carefully, may he not sum it up in just a single sentence, and accept it as truth, that all men like a gentleman?

Men admire in others the virtues they expect from themselves.  Check and double check.

The above came from an essay:
“What Men Like in Men”
By Rafford Pyke
Cosmopolitan Magazine, August 1902

I found it republished here.  Go read it.

I'm sure Vox could extrapolate some game related insights from the article.  I have only one to offer.  It is a universal truth that the female is attracted to the male (and the other way around).  The most important part of being a ladies man, is to be a man.  Do that first.  The ladies will follow.

 

Life....

Life keeps getting in the way of blogging.  October is one of the busiest months of the year for me under normal circumstances.  This year with the early snow storm and all the clean up, my month was basically wasted  with extra yard work.  Combine that with working the first half of the month straight thru without a day off, and I got next to nothing for free time.  My busy October has now become my busy November with no let up in sight.

I composed a couple of blogs in my head, but haven't had time to get them typed out.  The BJW Wednesday queue is full till after the first of the year, so you'll get at least one post a week from me.