Scootertrash Conservative

2010-09-21T11:58:00.006-05:00

The Hungarian Scout Festival, Cserkesznap, pronounced Chair-kayz-nop, which means scout day, is yet another reason I love Cleveland. The first thing that strikes you about the festival is that people will speak to you in Hungarian. They try Hungarian first and if you look baffled they switch to English. But no matter what language you speak the people are friendly and inviting. The next time you go to your local ethnic festival see how much of the language is spoken. That's all fine and good, you may be saying to yourself, but what about the food? I'm glad you asked because I discovered something interesting the last time I went. I knew that the paprikas, the gulyas, the stuffed cabbage, the Hungarian pastries and crepes were all made by the people that ran the festival. In other words Hungarians. What I didn't know was that they made the sausage as well. When I asked one of the guys doing the cooking where the sausage came from, he informed me it came from a pig. He wasn't just grilling the sausage, he was one of the guys that made the sausage for the festival. I got the recipe from him, it's all by taste not measurement, and I will try my hand at making some this fall. Do I have a point doing all this bragging about the Hungarian Scout Festival? Yes. There is a different level of ethnic intensity in Cleveland than in most of the cities in which I've lived and it's evident in it's festivals, neighborhoods and markets. It's just one more reason why I love Cleveland.

Why I love Cleveland

2010-09-12T12:01:00.010-05:00

Now that I've told you that it was a mistake for LeBron James to leave Cleveland in the previous post, I will now tell you why I love Cleveland which I will do in individual posts. My lovely wife and I make a trip up to Cleveland once or twice a year for various events and attractions. Let's start with the West Side Market. The West Side Market started as an open air market in the mid 1800's and the large structure you see to your left was completed in 1912. It's row after row of bakeries, butcher shops, seafood, spice stores and other goodies. My favorite being Dohar's meats, a Hungarian butcher shop that operates only out of the West side market. They have several varieties of fresh and smoked sausages and also carry Hungarian style bacon and salami and other things to fortify us paprika based life forms. And, they speak Hungarian.

You need some veggies? The vegetable stands run the length on the building on the north side of the market. The vendors are of any ethnic flavor you can think of. These folks are selling stuff. They do not wait quietly for you to pick up a pepper or an apple, they're yelling out prices, reaching over the fruit and vegetables to hand you samples. They compliment ...."these strawberries are as beautiful as you are" They admonish ..."I can't believe you are not going to buy this corn" a man said to us after we walked away from what was in his mind the best deal on corn in the history of the world. Towards the end of the day the prices start to come down as they would in any proper market. 2 for 5 becomes 2 for 4. That's not good enough? They make special price just for you! All these things make the West Side Market a very interesting place to say the least. But there is another thing which completes the experience, authenticity. You get the feeling not much has changed over the nearly 100 years of operation. It's being used much the same way in 2010 and it was in 1912. You walk around and see folks from all over the economic scale speaking a variety of languages. The only comparable market in my area is Findlay Market in Cincinnati. It was recently renovated and all they did was pretty the thing up. Adding seating areas and doo-dads to fancy up the place. Now it's just a tarted up market in a bad neighborhood. Having said that there are still gems in Findlay Market. Silverglades and Lukens Seafood and Poultry, Castellini's produce, the Arabic store and an asian store are all still there. No such thing has happened to the West Side Market and you can not only see the difference, you can feel it. So, take a trip to the West Side Market in Cleveland and experience it for yourself.

You made a huge mistake Lebron

2010-09-07T10:10:00.001-05:00

You'll excuse me for being extremely late to the party on this one. Lebron James, in my humble opinion, has made a terrible mistake. I'm motivated to comment on this now because I've just returned from a trip to Cleveland. LeBron, as you know, has decided to play basketball in Miami rather than Cleveland. If you are not familiar with the city of Cleveland it may seem like a good decision. Phooey. Cleveland sports fans are loyal like no other sports fans in the world and LeBron was one of their heroes. The man would have been treated as a god and all he would have needed to do is play good basketball, keep his nose clean and get involved in the community. They would have erected statues to the man. In fact, when he was still there, on one entire side of the arena where the Cavaliers play was a huge picture of LeBron. Needless to say it's gone now. I understand that Miami is the sexier selection and Cleveland winters are harsh, I get that, but some things are more important than flash and glitter. Cleveland is the city that LeBron grew up in. A son of Cleveland if you will. I'm not saying he owes it all to the city, but a little loyalty would be nice. To add insult to injury, he booked a slap Cleveland in the face hour long special on ESPN called The Decision. In the end, LeBron chose more money over his hometown and it's my opinion that it's one "decision" he will not be proud of at the end of his career.

They will lie about us.

2009-04-14T16:02:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow, April 15th there will be a Tea Party protest held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The protesters will assemble at Fountain Square and march, peacefully to City Hall. The picture to your left is of the Tea Party we held at fountain square on March 15th. There were over 5,000 people crowding the square peaceably protesting the insane spending of the Obama administration and one Obama supporter. So who did the first media on the scene latch on to? Yup, the lone Obama supporter. You can read more about that here. The rumor is that there will be counter protesters at the Tea Party, some of them pretending to be Tea Party protesters and will be misbehaving and displaying signs with ridiculous messages in an attempt to discredit the Tea Party movement. This a typical tactic of the left and I hope that all those in attendance have heeded the warning not to react to these folks except to point them out as frauds. They will not be subtle, their goal will be to get media coverage and to try and portray the actual protesters as racists, as violent or in favor of censorship or any other nasty thing they can think of. The media will of course fall for it hook line and sinker, because most of them are unaware that they are being played like a cheap fiddle. As far as the media is concerned, mainly television media, the truth is secondary to a good story. I will be working tomorrow, but I hope to catch the end of the protest as it wraps up at City Hall. But do not despair, your buddy Scootertrash will have boots on the ground and I will have a full report!

Who's in charge of this stuff?

2009-04-01T15:15:00.004-05:00

An Ipod, they gave the Queen of England an Ipod! Barack Obama and Michell Obama visited Queen Elizabeth and gave her an Ipod, and she already has one! You don't give someone of that stature an electronic toy, you give them something meaningful. But apparently whoever is in charge of these gift exchanges has again dropped the ball. What an embarrassment. You may recall President Obama's previous visit to London to meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The gift exchange was equally disastrous in it's thoughtlessness. President Obama gave Gordon Brown a box set of classic American movies on DVD in a format that is not compatible with the DVD player Prime Minister Brown most likely has. What did Prime Minister Brown give President Obama. Ohhhh, nothing special really, just an ornamental pen holder carved out of the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship the HMS Gannet. And that of course goes with a desk made of oak from her sister ship the HMS Resolute that has sat in the Oval Office in the White House since 1880. But wait, there's more, also a framed commission of the HMS Resolute and a first edition of the seven-volume biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert. Just some things he threw together at the last minute. I ignored this story when it first came to light. I chalked it up to him being new on the job, still learning the international ropes so to speak. It can no longer be ignored, we can now see they learned nothing, and embarrassed us yet again. My advice to President and Mrs. Obama, find somebody to help you with the gift thing before this becomes insulting.

ACORN and the Connecticut Working Families Party

2009-03-30T11:23:00.010-05:00

I learned an interesting fact earlier this week regarding the protest by the Connecticut Working Families Party in front of AIG headquarters and at private residences. The useful idiots pictured to above were recruited by ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN also paid for the bus and apparently co-founded the Connecticut Working Families party. Where does one have to learn this? Everywhere but the mainstream media. Let us not forget that ACORN was organized and it's leader trained by none other than President Obama. These thuggish tactics are not only ACORN's, they are also his. And speaking of President Obama, did you know he fired the CEO of General Motors Rick Wagoner? You can read about it in detail here. Of course President Obama said he doesn't want to run the auto companies, but yet he fired GM's CEO. This is an unprecedented abuse of power but typical of the heavy handed tactics of the Obama administration. So, the next time you hear of poor or unethical behavior by ACORN, remember where it comes from.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

2009-03-26T17:33:00.000-05:00

"They should voluntarily return them (the bonuses). If they don't we plan to tax virtually all of it." These are the words of the man to your left, Representative Charles Schumer referring to the bonuses paid to American International Group employees. When I heard him say that, a chill ran down my spine. Keep in mind, that when the bailout money was given to AIG, they knew of these contractually obligated bonuses, agreed upon before any taxpayer money went to the ailing firm, and it was included in the agreement. Then in an abrupt about face, they pass a bill specifically targeting these bonuses taxing them at a rate of 90%. This is such a grotesque abuse of power, it defies description. This is not the kind of behavior we should expect from our elected officials.

In related news. A busload of protesters took a little tour of Connecticut and staged a protest, organized by the Connecticut Working Families Party, in front of AIG headquarters to show their displeasure at the employees taking the bonuses that they earned. Certainly their right as citizens of these United States. But what they did next was, in my opinion, over the line. They protested in front of private homes of AIG employees. This plucky band of Obamatons held up signs and read letters in front of these homes with a barrier of private security between them and the private property. The below You Tube video give us a glimpse of the type of person who would attend such a protest.

What I find interesting about this video is how the subject of mortgages shows up immediately in the coverage by CNN. What does the earned bonuses of AIG employees have to do with people failing to pay their mortgages? The last woman interviewed tells us, she would like to use the bonus money to " help the foreclosed people who don't have food in they home" That's the exact quote by the way, I'm not making fun of the woman. One activist, who is said to be an unemployed steel worker, was according to the CNN announcer is "putting his faith in President Obama". When he should be relying on himself. In a campaign speech in Colorado President Obama made the following pronouncement: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded." Are we seeing the beginnings of that movement? Will there be more protests in front of private residences? We know that this was a favorite tactic of the group ACORN. A group at one point who was organized and trained by President Obama. All of this together is too much to be considered a coincidence. So I guess we have to ask ourselves, what is the next move? Who will be the next group to be vilified? I have been avoiding a certain word that I thought too strong to describe what is going on here. But now I have to say it, these are the tactics of fascists, which have no place in our Republic.

2009-03-16T08:47:00.010-05:00

I spent my Sunday afternoon attending the Cincinnati Tea Party with my lovely wife, her mother our friends Rob and Jo and their daughter River and 5,000 of my closest friends. It was a beautiful day, sunny and mild with a light breeze and a comfortable temperature of 65 degrees. We listened to several passionate speakers and enjoyed the company of like minded patriots. So you can imagine my surprise when I came home, turned on the local news and found out the event I just attended was "violent". Channel 9 news (WCPO) reported that they had to leave the event due to fear for their safety and having been spit on by people involved in our protest. Never mind that they showed no footage of such activities even though they had a cameraman with them. As it turns out, Channel 9 may have had decided how they were going to report the story before they left the studio. This information was in an email was sent out by the Cincinnati Tea Party Organization which is revealing to say the least. When you read this, steam will come out of your ears.

"The true story is that they found the lone Obama supporter amidst a sea of 5,000 and went to interview her. The crowd that was nearby noticed and was upset and let their displeasure be voiced, but were clearly peaceful.

I (Mike Wilson, founder of Cincinnati Tea Party) just watched the 11p.m. version of their (Channel 9) newscast and it was much less slanted, but retained the accusation of threats, but without providing proof.

Now the truly interesting thing is that WCPO interviewed me on Friday March 12th. The interview went well but I was cornered by the assistant news director, Jeff Brogan. He was upset that emails flooded the station about the tea party and asked that we do what we can to stop them. I pointed out that I don't control anyone and that I had sent an email to our entire mailing list that I would be on WCPO He pointed out too much email contact was a good way to get on their bad side and we should stop if we wanted to get good coverage. I guess he and WCPO lived up to those words."

Now you know why I've never relied on my local TV stations, any of them, for my news. This is something I have first hand experience with. These people are not journalists, they are driven by ratings and are slaves to their consultants. It's a sad state of affairs that the recommendations for improvement of a news program mainly include using younger talking heads and redecorating the set. I watched an entire morning show revamped in this manner. The naked truth is that sensationalism rules the local news room. The truth be damned, we want a story! But despite the lies and distortions, they cannot dampen our spirits because we know the truth of our intentions and now we know the truth of theirs.

Tim Geithner should be charged with tax evasion

2009-02-09T10:45:00.000-05:00

Tim Geithner should either be charged with tax evasion or he should resign his post as Secretary of the Treasury. In his position as director of the Policy Development and Review Department of the International Monetary Fund no payroll tax was withheld from his pay. Which of course means that you need to pay your own taxes. Well, it didn't mean that to our new Treasury Secretary! He failed to pay 34,000 dollars in income tax over the 4 years he was with the IMF, blaming it on "Turbo Tax", the software that assists you in filing your income tax. This brings me to two possible conclusions: 1: He deliberately did not pay his taxes. 2: He was unaware that as an independent contractor with the IMF that he had to pay his own taxes (he signed a document every quarter that said he was supposed to be paying his own taxes). The first conclusion makes him a criminal, the second, renders him unfit to be with the Treasury department which oversees the IRS. But yet, there he is, in the administration of President Obama. In addition to the tax cheats, we have the lobbyists. There is nothing wrong with lobbyists, but President Obama sure thought they were a problem back when he was campaigning saying: "I don't take a dime of their money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House." Except for..... William J. Lynn III, his choice to become the number 2 official at the Defense Department, who lobbied for military contractor Raytheon. And William Corr, selected to be deputy secretary at Health and Human services who lobbied through most of 2008 as an anti-tobacco advocate. So we see example after example of the continuation of lies from his campaign right into the White House. And his first 100 days aren't even up. I need a drink.

One reason why liberals shouldn't be in charge of anything.

2009-01-26T10:39:00.013-05:00

The man to your left is Robert Reich, an advisor to President Obama. In a recent congressional testimony on economic recovery he said the following:

"I am concerned, as I’m sure many of you are, that these jobs not simply go to high-skilled people who are already professionals or to white male construction workers…I have nothing against white male construction workers, I’m just saying there are other people who have needs as well.”

So if you think somehow I am misinterpreting that statement, here is what he wrote on his blog:

"The stimulus plan will create jobs repairing and upgrading the nation’s roads, bridges, ports, levees, water and sewage system, public-transit systems, electricity grid, and schools. And it will kick-start alternative, non-fossil based sources of energy (wind, solar, geothermal, and so on); new health-care information systems; and universal broadband Internet access.
It’s a two-fer: lots of new jobs, and investments in the nation’s future productivity.
But if there aren't enough skilled professionals to do the jobs involving new technologies, the stimulus will just increase the wages of the professionals who already have the right skills rather than generate many new jobs in these fields. And if construction jobs go mainly to white males who already dominate the construction trades, many people who need jobs the most — women, minorities, and the poor and long-term unemployed — will be shut out.
What to do? There’s no easy solution to either dilemma…
People can be trained relatively quickly for these sorts of jobs, as well as many infrastructure jobs generated by the stimulus — installing new pipes for water and sewage systems, repairing and upgrading equipment, basic construction — but contractors have to be nudged both to provide the training and to do the hiring.
I’d suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus funds require contractors to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-term unemployed and to people with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. And at least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such training. In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades apprenticeships — which must be fully available to women and minorities."

Where does one start with this. It is most certainly social engineering and wealth redistribution on a grand scale and additionally, it's racist on two levels. One, it excludes white males specifically from federal funds because they are white. And two, it presumes non-white people need liberal saviors like Robert Reich to succeed in life. That they are incapable of doing if left to their own devices. This is a spectacular example of the bigotry of the left. They treat the poor and minorities like they're children and they have disdain for those who succeed. Reich is actually suggesting that we pass over skilled workers, to quite literally punish those who had the audacity to prepare themselves for the workforce, and give those jobs to people who have to be trained to do that job. How backwards is that? How would you like to be driving towards a bridge and read a sign that says "this bridge was built by people who just learned how to build a bridge" He tries to deny that what he said was racist on his blog in an open letter to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michelle Malkin. In this letter he accuses them of distorting what he said and taking it out of context. What a laugh, when pinkos like Reich get caught expressing what they truly believe, and worse, try to use taxpayer money to promote it, they deny it. On top of being liars, they haven't the courage of their convictions to stand up for what they say. If this is the kind of advice President Obama will be getting, his administration and the country are in for a long four years.

Reverend Wright, lite... and ewww you're a nasty poet!

2009-01-20T21:52:00.013-05:00

The following quote is from Reverend Joseph Lowery at the inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama: “We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right.” So far so bad, the man who promised to be the President to all, including those who did not vote for him selected Reverend Lowery who then proceeds to lecture white people, urging them to "embrace what is right" News flash Rev. Lowery, if it wasn't for white people, Obama would still be a Senator.

At the inauguration, a poem was read, a bad poem. It was that modern, free form style of poetry that more resembles a speech with an annoying cadence than a poem. While, the inaugural poem, written and performed by Elizabeth Alexander entitled "Praise Song for the Day", was innocuous at best, another poem by Alexander is quite disturbing. If you have a weak stomach, read no further.

"Neonatology
Is
funky, is
leaky, is
a soggy, bloody crotch, is
sharp jets of breast milk shot straight across the room, is
gaudy, mustard-colored poop, is postpartum tears that soak the baby’s lovely head.
Then everything dries and disappears
Then everything dries and disappears

Neonatology

is day into night into day,
light into dark into light,
semi-and full-fledged,
hyperconscious, is funky, is funny: the baby farts,we laugh.
The baby burps, we smile, say “Yes.”
The baby poops, his whole body stiffens, then steam heat floods the pipes.
He slashes his nose with nails we cannot bear to trim,
takes a nap, and the wounds disappear.
The spirit lives in your squirts and coos.
Your noises and fluids are what you do.

Neonatology"

This is an excerpt, not the complete poem, but it doesn't get any better. There is another lovely passage about the afterbirth that is truly insipid and ridiculous. Keep in mind, these two people were CHOSEN by President Obama to be at his inauguration. Yet another racist reverend and a writer who considers the grotesque and scatalogical to be poetry. The main stream media ignored the associations of now President Obama, and by ignoring them labeled them as not newsworthy. President Obama now has a free pass to bring anybody he wants into the governmental fold. This is going to be an unpleasant 4 years.

Why do they hate Sarah Palin?

2009-01-05T08:27:00.000-05:00

What inspires the irrational and all consuming hatred of Sarah Palin? Why would some some people go to such lengths to make up lies that are so ridiculous that it simply cannot be believed (think 'aliens built the pyramids' ridiculous). I'll give you a couple of good reasons.

1: They simply cannot compete with her on a level playing field, so they have to try and disparage her and make her look like a hypocrite. All this in an effort to tear her down rather than competing with her in the arena of ideas, where they would always lose.

2: A woman who doesn't play the victim card and is successful without the help of the left, simply does not compute in the mind of the average liberal moonbat. Here is a woman who has earned everything she has, and did so on her own merit. Not riding any one's coattails. Feminists should be cheering her, not savaging her.

3: She committed the unpardonable sin the left cannot forgive under any circumstances, she's pro-life.

4: She's a hunter.

5: She does the right thing even when it's not going to be easy. She knew her baby boy had down syndrome before he was born, but did she abort the child?

I'm sure Sarah Palin will return to the public eye someday and the twits on the left will try to prove that one of her babies was fathered by bigfoot or something. Being on the McCain/Palin ticket was a great learning experience for Sarah and she is stronger for it. The next time we see Sarah Palin will be after 4 or possibly 8 years of Barack Obama and it will be huge. Rather than find that people have forgotten her, I believe that she will find people have been waiting for her.

Our new President

2008-11-05T08:47:00.007-05:00

First, before I begin the criticism, which may not be allowed under the new administration, I say congratulations to President elect Barack Obama, and I wish him well. It is truly an historic event, the first black president.

I guess we still haven't learned. The examples of the old Soviet Union, Chairman Mao, Pol pot, Kim Jung Il or Fidel Castro taught us nothing. The voters elected a socialist. Which is problematic in that it has never worked anywhere it's ever been tried. Taking money from the productive and giving it to the unproductive is, on it's face, illogical.

These are my predictions:

1. Under the Obama administration he will try to make things "fair" by taxing those making over 150,00 a year and sending checks to those who pay no federal income tax at all. I know he said 250,000 dollars a year but that of course was a lie.

2. He will attempt to silence the opposition by reenacting the fairness doctrine. An Federal Communications Commission regulation that was enacted in 1949 and abolished in 1987. Needless to say it's not relevant today. But it could be an effective tool in killing conservative AM talk radio. Which is why they will try to do it.

3. You folks in the middle class expecting a tax cut, you won't see a dime.

4. His energy policy will see the cost of all the fuels we use increase. Let's take coal for instance, here's what President elect Obama said. "I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year. So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted." Where I live, we get our electricity from coal. Thanks Barack.

5. If he is successful in pulling all troops out of the middle east, it will be seen by Islamic fundamentalist terrorists as a victory and they will bring the fight to our country. So we have that to look forward to.

6. Unemployment will go up. His tax plan will force small businesses to pay more in taxes and that will likely result in people losing their jobs. I see an unemployment jump of at least 2 percentage points if he gets the tax plan he promised.

All of this I believe will happen, I really really want to be wrong about this but I don't think I am. It's Jimmy Carter all over again. But what I'm really concerned about is that he will do to the country and the constitution what was done with the flag at the Democratic convention.

2008-09-14T11:01:00.012-05:00

Pamela Anderson , famous for being a bad actress with a sex tape, big fake boobs and a series of bad boy boyfriends has weighed in on Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin with this razor sharp intellectual observation. "I can't stand her," Anderson replied after rolling her eyes. "She can suck it!" You see Pam is a spokesperson for PETA and she was reacting to a question from a reporter about a picture of Sarah Palin with an animal fur in the background. It doesn't surprise me that this kind of comment comes from someone as vapid as Pam Anderson, what does surprise me is that it's considered newsworthy, ending up on both Fox News and the Drudge Report. But I suppose this is what we will hear regarding Sarah Palin for the next several weeks. Oh, and Pamela, I saw the video, I believe that was you sucking it. This post is also published here.

You big bully!

2008-09-09T11:41:00.005-05:00

At a fundraiser held by Jon Bon Jovi in New Jersey last week, Barack Hussein Obama said the following: "We're not going to be bullied, we're not going to be smeared, we're not going to be lied about. I don't believe in coming in second." First of all, no one of any credibility has smeared the man. But that's not the part that intrigues me. The part that has me scratching my head is, "we're not going to be bullied" Which begs the question who's bullying you? Is the mean lady from Alaska or the 70 year old guy who can barely lift his hands over his head?

Nancy Pelosi is a liar

2008-08-25T09:52:00.005-05:00

Nancy Pelosi told a whopper on meet the Press this past Sunday. When asked what advice she would give Barack Obama on when life begins she said this:

MR. BROKAW: Senator Obama saying the question of when life begins is above his pay grade, whether you’re looking at it scientifically or theologically. If he were to come to you and say, “Help me out here, Madame Speaker. When does life begin?” what would you tell him?

REP. PELOSI: I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator–St. Augustine said at three months. We don’t know. The point is, is that it shouldn’t have an impact on the woman’s right to choose. Roe v. Wade talks about very clear definitions of when the child–first trimester, certain considerations; second trimester; not so third trimester. There’s very clear distinctions. This isn’t about abortion on demand, it’s about a careful, careful consideration of all factors and–to–that a woman has to make with her doctor and her god. And so I don’t think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins. As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this, and there are those who’ve decided…

MR. BROKAW: The Catholic Church at the moment feels very strongly that it…

REP. PELOSI: I understand that.

MR. BROKAW: …begins at the point of conception.

REP. PELOSI: I understand. And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy. But it is, it is also true that God has given us, each of us, a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions. And we want abortions to be safe, rare, and reduce the number of abortions. That’s why we have this fight in Congress over contraception. My Republican colleagues do not support contraception. If you want to reduce the number of abortions, and we all do, we must–it would behoove you to support family planning and, and contraception, you would think. But that is not the case. So we have to take–you know, we have to handle this as respectfully–this is sacred ground. We have to handle it very respectfully and not politicize it, as it has been–and I’m not saying Rick Warren did, because I don’t think he did, but others will try to.”

WHAT? Since when has the Catholic church ever wavered on their belief of when life begins. So in reading this transcript, you can only come to two conclusions. One, she is an ardent catholic and the smartest woman in the world who has no idea church's stance on this issue, or, she's lying. I'm going with lying. This once again points up how utterly important abortion is to the dominant leftist majority of the Democratic party. Unless you are on the leftists side of this issue forget being taken seriously by fellow Democrats. There is no dissent, no deviation from the script and Pelosi's new low, lying about your own religion to fit your agenda. In a word, disgusting.

So I guess you'll be going back to France then?

2008-08-11T10:55:00.006-05:00

These men in the picture to the left compose the fastest relay team in the world. I would like to congratulate, from left to right, Garrett Weber-Gale, Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps and Cullen Jones for winning the gold medal in spectacular fashion in the men's 4x100 freestyle relay. What could make that victory sweeter? They beat the french. Which, under normal circumstances would not mean so much, I mean who hasn't beaten the french? It was the comment made by one of the members of the French relay team that turned an important race into an epic battle. French relay swimmer Alain Bernard said "we will crush the Americans, that's why we are here." Well, bon voyage Alain!

Liberal fascism

2008-08-04T09:12:00.016-05:00

The picture to the left is that of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Shaking her finger at you and telling you how it's going to be and you just better shut up and listen and don't you dare to have a point of view that differs from hers or she will shut you down. For example, when questioned as to why she has blocked attempts by republicans to lift a moratorium on offshore energy exploration, her reply was: “I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet, I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse for their failed policy.” Wasn't she the one who said if we elected democrats in 2006 to the house and senate they had a "plan" to reduce fuel prices? Who has the failed policy? The most recent example of the "leadership" of the house that Speaker Pelosi provides came just last week. She, and the Democrats, apparently trying to stifle debate in the most effective way possible, voted to adjourn, at 11:20 in the morning mind you, for a 5 week break over the objections of several republicans. The adjournment was specifically done so that Dictator Pelosi could avoid scheduling a vote on offshore drilling. This quote from Michigan GOP Representative Thaddeus McCotter says it all: "This is the people's House, this is not Pelosi's politiburo." Even though the session was now over, the republicans continued to speak. The democrats, in their infinite wisdom, shut off the lights and the microphones. The resourceful republicans figured out how to turn the power back on and continued their one sided debate. Only to be shut down again! The republicans continued without the aid of the microphones until 5:00 p.m.

fas·cism:

A governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

If you take away the aggressive nationalism, you have Speaker Pelosi's brand of liberalism in a nutshell. You'll notice I didn't take out the "often racism" part of the definition. Do I then mean that Pelosi is a racist? Nope, she thinks EVERYONE is inferior, but not by race, by political philosophy. A superiority complex of sorts. She demonstrates this by shutting down the free and open debate by elected representatives of the people of the United States of America, specifically republicans. Because she knows all, she is omnipotent, for god's sake she is trying to save the planet!

And if you don't toe the line, you'll get the finger!

My new hero

2008-07-28T14:09:00.001-05:00

This from Yahoo news:

In this photo provided by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's department, Keith Walendowski is shown. Walendowski is accused of shooting his lawn mower because it wouldn't start. According to the criminal complaint, Walendowski said he was angry because his Lawn Boy wouldn't start Wednesday morning, July 23, 2008. He told police quote, 'I can do that, it's my lawn mower and my yard so I can shoot it if I want.' (AP Photo/Milwaukee County Sheriff's department via the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

What your Willie is thinkin'

2008-07-22T15:31:00.003-05:00

"A taxpayer voting for Barack Hussein Obama is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders"

Bill Cunningham

Pretty Face, Empty Head

2008-06-06T16:31:00.004-05:00

"I think that having a president called Barack Hussein Obama says that we are part of the world."

Whenever I begin to think that a celebrity has said the most meaningless thing anyone has ever said, someone raises the bar. This time it was Gwenyth Paltrow. Pretty face, empty head. When a natural disaster strikes and people are in need, even people that we know don't like us, what do we do? We send in the doctors, c-130's full of food, water and medical supplies and people to coordinate the effort. This country has rid the world of despots, terrorists and thugs of all kinds. We swear in new citizens by the thousands every day. Allowing people from countries where there is little, if any opportunity, come to a country where the opportunities are limitless. But to this tow headed twit, it's the name of the president that makes us "part of the world".

non se·qui·tur
1.
Logic. an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
2.
a statement containing an illogical conclusion.

I'll help you pack

2008-06-02T09:16:00.002-05:00

“It’s a critical time, but I have faith in the American people. If they prove me wrong, I’ll be checking out a move to Italy. Maybe Canada, I don’t know. We’re at an abyss.”

I'm never quite sure why celebrities say these kinds of things. Are we supposed to vote for the democrat or they will take all of their personal wonderfulness and move away? Vote democrat or bear the shame of chasing away such a fine citizen as Susan Sarandon? Are we to collapse to the ground sobbing at the prospect of Ms. Sarandon moving to Canada? Either way, you have to have a ludicrously high opinion of yourself to say such a thing.

So Susan, this is what I say to you, why wait? Scram, beat it, get lost, leave, make a run for the border, vamoose. Take your self absorbed, pinko political views and thinly veiled narcissistic threats and go. And take Tim Robbins with you. I'll help you pack.

She misspoke

2008-04-21T11:43:00.002-05:00

Misspeak/mɪsˈspik/–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -spoke, -spok·en, -speak·ing.1.to speak, utter, or pronounce incorrectly.2.to speak inaccurately, inappropriately, or too hastily.

Or did she just flat out tell a big ole' lie. I am referring to her account of being under the threat of sniper fire in Bosnia. She claims she "misspoke" but, by the above definition, that is not possible. Lying is bad enough, but something she did afterward shows something more important. Senator Clinton went on David Letterman's show and joked about it. The woman doesn't even have the decency to be embarrassed about a HUGE public lie! This woman wants to be your president. Lying, to her, is a means to an end. She lies easily and shows no remorse when caught. As my lovely wife put it "these people are sociopaths!" And I do believe she's right. How can you tell if Hillary Clinton is lying? See the above photograph (hint: her mouth is open)

Strategory (stra-tee-ja-ree)

2007-09-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

Invoking a fake Bushism uttered by Will Farrell on Saturday Night Live, I would like to salute President George Bush for thinking ahead for the Republican party. In an interview with author Bill Sammon, he predicted that Hillary Clinton would defeat Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. A small bit of strategy that will help the Republican nominee. At his point, we of course do no know who will be the GOP candidate, but we do know this: Hillary energizes the Republican base! How many times have we seen the Dems go on a campaign tear, getting all kinds of face time and the GOP just sits there with their thumbs you know where. Not this time! So I would like to give credit where credit is due and congratulate President George Bush and the Republican party for a very smart and timely political move.

If mothers ruled the world

2007-09-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

"And, let's face it, if the mothers ruled the war, there would be no g**d*** wars in the first place," exclaimed Sally Fields in her acceptance speed after winning an Emmy for whatever it is she's doing nowadays. She was of course referring to the current war in Iraq against Islamic terrorists. She is also a completely silly person. I would like to challenge Ms. Fields to explain that comment, which of course she can't, because it makes absolutely no sense. But rather than explain what her statement could possibly mean, let's examine why she said it. She said it because it sounds good. It doesn't matter if upon even the slightest further examination the thought turns out to be idiotic, it only matters that it sounds good and for Hollywood grand standers like Sally Field, that is the highest achievement. So in the same vein as Cameron Diaz suggesting that you would be raped if you didn't vote, "Women have so much to lose. I mean, we could lose the right to our bodies....If you think that rape should be legal, then don't vote." Sally Field has given us our newest nugget of elitist wisdom that unfortunately contains nothing wise. It is perfectly unchallengeable, an unprovable conclusion derived from a situation that will never exist. In other words, liberal nirvana. But it sounds darn good and it makes people applaud, even though they have no idea why they applaud.

Tennessee doesn't welcome bikers.

2007-09-09T11:16:00.000-05:00

In August of 2006, I took a trip to the North Carolina, Tennessee area to a section of US 129 known as the Tail of the Dragon. A gem of a road, that starts in Tennessee and finishes in North Carolina, at least the Tail of the Dragon part. 318 glorious turns in 11 miles. But apparently folks were having too much fun, so Governor Philip Bredeson of the great state of Tennessee decided that it was time to saturate the dragon with law enforcement. But not just any enforcement, but tactics that can be described as at best, heavy handed, and at worst outright harassment with the intent of scaring away, if I may coin a phrase, moto-tourists. Check out the Tail of the Dragon website for the gory details of people being threatened with arrest for such heinous crimes as exceeding the speed limit by 5 miles an hour and not having proof of shatterproof sunglasses. When I first read of these ridiculous efforts to scare my fellow motor enthusiasts away from this beautiful area, my first thought was, heck I'm not going down there only to get a big fat ticket, there are plenty of nice roads in own my backyard. My second thought was: I'm not letting some thuggish and sloppy law enforcement chase me away from an area I fell in love with on my first visit. I say sloppy because rather than have regular enforcement as formally requested many times by the fine proprietors of the Tail of the Dragon, the powers that be decided, the bludgeon approach was best. Scare them all away, not thinking of the local economy built by the moto-tourists that come to drive that legendary road.

<---When I return this year, this is what will be waiting for me. But rest assured, I will go and I will spend money in NORTH CAROLINA and as little as possible in Tennessee. The photo to your left is courtesy of the Tail of the Dragon website. Please visit this site if you think I'm exaggerating the abuse of power by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. In fact just visit the site anyway to get a flavor of this spectacular part of the country.

But better yet, make your own trip and visit Fontana Dam, drive the Cherohala Skyway or just enjoy the peacefulness of a remote mountain region with spectacular scenery and an atmosphere beyond compare. And if you see a green Kawasaki sportbike and a guy with a salt and pepper buzz cut, that will be me, stop and say hi.

Jimmy strikes again!

2007-05-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

Former President Jimmy Carter, apparently suffering from some extreme form of memory loss, attacked the Bush Administration as "the worst in history". His full quote being: "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history" Jimmy has slipped from merely being a partisan hack to his current state of delusional. For those who may agree with Carter, I submit to you that it was the Carter administration that had by far the most "adverse impact on the nat ion and around the world". Lets start with the economy. When Carter took office, interest rates were at 8%. During the Carter years the rate rose to 21.5% dropping to 18% by the end of his term. How many of you out there could afford to buy a house with an 18% interest rate? Under the omnipotent Carter inflation rose from 5.5% to a whopping 18%. And then blamed it on malaise. Wohooo! What a leader! Add that to the house you couldn't afford and you've got some standard of living, high on the hog baby! How about Carter's foreign policy? His failure to support the Shah of Iran gave us the Ayatollah Khomeini. Which, in turn led to the occupation of our embassy in Iran by Iranian militants supported by the Iranian Government who held the embassy staff and U.S. Marines hostage for over a year. One of those militants, who is now the psycho president of Iran, was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Thanks Jimmy! But we did have plenty of time to catch up on our reading thanks to the gas shortage. Long lines at gas stations, rationing, and stations with no gas at all. Sigh, good times, good times. All under the watchful eye of James Earl Carter Jr. Well known Fidel Castro supporter and overseer of corrupt elections of third world strongmen and socialists around the world, Carter has some nerve to say anything about the administration of George W. Bush. Go back to building houses for the poor Jimmy, politics just isn't your bag.

Crybabies

2007-05-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

We are rapidly becoming a nation of whiny, thin skinned, humorless dolts. A local radio station ran this billboard a few weeks ago and was immediately assailed by United Latin American Citizens, an activist group, saying they were, what else, offended. What are you, a 4 year old? The intent of this sign is obvious, to stir up this kind of controversy for free publicity. But lets put that aside for the moment. It's an obvious reference to every body's favorite coffee bean picker, Juan Valdez. And a play on the radio station's tag line, the big one. The sombrero, pancho and donkey are all part of the gag. To be offended by something so innocuous is truly childish. So something else must be afoot!

Here comes the shakedown. "We don't just want to slap you on the hand and say you're sorry. We also want something long-term to make an impact on the community," That from the man in the picture to the left, and I do mean left, Jason Riveiro. And there it is folks, a new industry, race hustling. Find a deep pocket and dive in!

Yu Tawk Funney

2007-04-23T10:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a little gem
I found on the Drudge Report today of Hillary speaking to a black audience. The republican campaign commercial just writes itself.

Next, they're gonna' want to regulate how many times you can wipe your butt.

2007-04-23T10:14:00.000-05:00

"I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting"

Sheryl Crow

A few questions Sheryl:

1. How would you enforce this? You would have to pay someone a LOT of money to do this job.

2. Did you run this one by anybody before you said it in an interview? I'm guessing not.

3. Have you completely lost touch with reality? I'm guessing you have.

Cross posted at Proud To Be Out Of Touch

Last time I checked.....

2007-03-29T09:34:00.000-05:00

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi warned Bush to "calm down with the threats" to veto any troops bill that would contain irrelevant issues and a time line. The last time I checked, Nancy, President Bush is THE Commander in Chief and we are currently involved in a war. If anyone is levelling threats it's you. But now the Dems are showing their true colors, withdrawing support for the troops, making their lives more dangerous by providing a time line to the enemy and voting for a bill for the express purpose that it be vetoed so they can say the President is playing politics. When in reality it is most certainly the Dems playing politics at the expense of American lives. Look up hypocrite in the dictionary, and you will see a picture of Nancy Pelosi.

Jesse James gets robbed

2007-03-02T12:47:00.000-05:00

In the April issue of Cycle World, editor in chief David Edwards exposes the hypocrisy of the California Air Resources Board. Chopper builder and Monster Garage TV star Jesse James was fined 271,250 dollars for the sale of 50 bikes not in compliance with California emissions standards, which has the toughest standards in the nation. This from Edwards piece: "Emissions data shows an uncertified engine in a motorcycle can emit up to 10 times more pollution than a certified one" Which is a damning bit of evidence......... if they had actually tested any of James' bikes......... which, of course, they didn't. James himself had them tested, and they were found to run clean. This from James: "One of my non-compliant bikes has the same emissions as a Prius" James offered to retrofit the bikes with the needed parts (different exhaust system and fuel evaporative recovery system) to bring the bikes into compliance, but CARB refused. James said in a statement that the board was only interested "in the cash settlement". You see, they don't want cleaner running bikes, they want the money. As soon as the fine was paid, the bikes registrations were reinstated, and the bikes were then California legal. With no additional modifications. Doesn't it give you a warm feeling inside to know that people of such high character are looking out for your welfare? It's kinda like the Mafia, you better pay the tribute to the greenie weenies if you want to do business in California, or they'll whack your business. Thanks to Cycle World and especially David Edwards for showing CARB to be what it is, a money grubbing, hypocritical, bureaucratic fraud.

And the Oscar goes to... Chicken Little

2007-02-26T17:29:00.000-05:00

Al Gore, as you probably already know, won an Oscar for his paranoid, greenie weenie propaganda film, An Inconvenient Truth. Al is what's known as in the old Soviet circles as a useful idiot. Someone who can rally the public to ignore important issues by presenting a series of fake environmental hobgoblins for which the only cure is some draconian measure. The Soviets benefitted from men like this because he distracts resources from productive efforts.

The website for this film, climatecrisis.net is filled with little gems like this quote from Al regarding the 2005 hurricane season: "what changed in the U.S. with Hurricane Katrina was a feeling that we have entered a period of consequences." As though we've never had hurricanes before. Global warming was supposed to be the cause of the series of strong hurricanes in the 2005 season, but the following season had no storms of hurricane strength. Al says that the oceans will rise more than 20 feet in the next 100 years because of global warming melting the ice at the poles, even though the most dire computer models show a rise of no more than 1 foot. The real reason for films like this, the green movement and useful idiots like Al Gore is wealth confiscation and further government control. All you need to know about global warming is this.... the earth has been warming and cooling for 4.5 billion years. Man has been around for about 195 thousand years and hasn't been producing pollutants in any significant volume until about the last 300 years. Which leaves 4,499,999,700 years of the Earth warming and cooling on it's own, with ice ages occurring about every 40,000 to 100,000 years. Our contribution to the rising temperature of the earth is not even large enough to qualify as minuscule. Folks, we're not even on the radar. Beware of men like Al gore, he has his hand in your pocket and a strong belief that the government should tell you how to live your life.

Get your motor runnin'

2007-02-19T17:07:00.000-05:00

Nothing in the world of politics seems worth commenting on, what with non-binding resolutions being non-binding and all. Proving once again the dems are abject cowards. Anna Nicole is still dead, and doesn't Britney look cute bald? (no) Who cares! the snow is melting and riding season is upon us! Check out the post by my good friend Rob for a little high speed motorcycle fun and check out my wife's blog for a good old people moment joke. To your left is a picture of my bike at the overlook on the tail of the dragon. The entire area is truly a bikers paradise. So, for the moment, the doofus dems are of no concern to me. I will enjoy the promises of a new riding season...... adventures, twisties and epic scenery. I'm off to buy some chain lube!

Oooooh, I shouldn't have said that.

2007-02-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

Hillary Clinton on how she would confiscate legally earned oil company profits in a speech at the DNC winter meeting:

"The other day the oil companies reported the highest profits in the history of the world. (Laughter.) I want to take those profits and I want to put them into a strategic energy fund that will begin to find alternative smart energy, alternatives and technologies that will begin to actually move us toward the direction of independence! (Cheers, applause.) "

Does anyone need anymore evidence that the woman is a socialist? And what happened the last time a socialist was president? Anyone remember Jimmy Carter? Nuff said.

A couple of quotes by Ronald Reagan to cap this off.

"You know, they say there are only two places where communism works: in heaven, where they don't need it—and in hell, where they've already got it."

"Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15."

Cotton candy news

2007-02-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

It's an all Anna Nicole Smith all the time! ABC, NBC CBS, Fox News, MSNBC and anybody with a microphone or a camera are focusing on this story without regard for it's newsworthiness. Is it a surprise that this drug addled, surgically inflated and pharmaceutically deflated woman died so young?. More importantly should it have been the lead story on everything? Of course not on both accounts. I can understand the initial flurry when she died, as we all know the most important thing in the new industry is to be first. Following that there is no justification for the in depth coverage of this person who is famous for having big boobs and being a stoned gold digger. As far as the comparisons to Marilyn Monroe, puleeeese. Will we be talking about this woman 50 years from now?

Why do we get this kind of coverage? It's easy, it attracts viewers quickly. It's a no effort proposition, set up a camera at the first press conference with a microphone even though THEY KNOW nobody knows anything yet. Like cotton candy it's all fluff, it looks like something, but boils down to next to nothing.

The heart of a champion

2007-01-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

I was cruising around the news sites reading various articles about the recent protest in Washington D.C. and feeling a bit queasy when I heard the news about Barbaro's passing. I was going to blog about the protest, but then I would have to read idiotic comments from pinheads like Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda, Maxine Waters, Tim Robbins and the like. I chose the horse. I didn't know Barbaro from a hole in the ground until he injured himself. I guess what effected me the most with this horse was how he seemed to beat the odds even when recovery appeared impossible.

I have mixed feelings about horse racing. It certainly is a beautiful sport but it is particularly dangerous for the horse. They are bred for speed (obviously) and it makes them vulnerable to serious injury. Here are some of the grim statistics: On average, one active racehorse a day is killed in Britain. More than 700 a year are killed in the United States and Canada. I'm not suggesting that the sport be banned but maybe a little more closely regulated. We are responsible for these animals. Breed these horses to be as sturdy as they are fast. It may slow the sport down a bit, but it will also kill fewer animals. I would like that to be Barbaro's legacy, but that's not going to happen.

If they bury Barbaro down at the Kentucky Horse Park I will make a special trip this summer to visit his grave.

First amendment, Kucinich style.

2007-01-22T14:27:00.000-05:00

Dennis Kucinich wants to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine. In a speech at the National Conference for Media Reform, Kucinich stated that the new congress was "in a position" to reintroduce "progressive ideas back into the marketplace". The Fairness Doctrine was enacted in 1949 by the Federal Communications Commission at a time when media outlets were relatively small in number. It was abolished in 1987 under the Reagan administration, yet another reason to be thankful for that man, when many government restrictions on media outlets were removed (deregulation). An attempt was made in 1991 to bring it back, but it failed when George Bush said if the bill came to him, he'd veto it. I was working in Christian radio at the time and the owners of the station were very concerned. The station played southern gospel music most of the time, but on Sunday morning we aired recorded sermons from local pastors. Would the Fairness Doctrine require our station to air the opinions of Atheists? Satanists? Pagans? Who would we be required to give equal air time to?

This new effort to bring back the fairness doctrine is a direct response to the popularity of conservative talk radio. Air America, the liberal alternative, is such stunningly bad radio they can't sell it. The only way the liberal point of view can stay on the air is if they hijack, at least partially, the more popular conservative shows. Part of the reason is their philosophy can't stand scrutiny. Which is why they don't take many calls with other points of view. I hadn't noticed this until it was pointed out to me by a local talk show host Mike McConnell on one of his programs. Without that aspect, the caller, that kind of show becomes very tedious, very quickly. I've listened to Randi Rhodes and Al Franken a few times and it was just awful, not just the philosophy, it was bad radio. On top of that Rhodes is delusional. She believes that the only reason she doesn't have the listenership that Rush Limbaugh has is that Rush threatened to take all of his shows off Clear Channel Radio if Rhodes was put on as competition anywhere. She actually said that in an interview on C-Span!

I believe this new effort to bring back the Fairness Doctrine will also fail because the original intent no longer applies. There are so many outlets now it would be nearly impossible to enforce the thing. And more than likely enforcement would be very selective and conservative talk radio would be the target. The pinkos love free speech, but only if you agree with them.

P.S. Spell check wanted me to replace "Kucinich" with "juiciness". I love spell check.

The first 100 hours

2007-01-15T11:25:00.000-05:00

Favors for businesses in the area you represent, catty swipes at respected cabinet members, so far this is not looking like the ultra ethical government we were promised by the Democrats. Let's start with Nancy Pelosi. She promised the most honest, open and ethical Congress since Jesus was a teenager. So what happens under her speakership? A major corporation, that just happens to be in Pelosi's district, is exempted from the new minimum wage law by virtue of being in American Samoa, a territory of the United States. The company is Starkist Tuna who's parent company is Del Monte foods, who's headquarters is in San Francisco. I'm sure it's just a coincidence! Riiiiight. Fortunately for the good people of American Samoa, Pelosi was exposed for the fraud that she is, forcing the Democrats to now include all territories in the new minimum wage law. Most ethical my @$$.

One would expect more from a United States Senator than the catty remarks she made recently to Condoleeza Rice at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting. "Who pays the price?" Barbara Boxer asked Rice regarding the war in Iraq. "I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and my grandchild is too young. You're not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with immediate family. "So who pays the price? The American military and their families." The insinuation is that Rice who is single and childless does not have a dog in this fight, and is maybe less qualified because of that fact. Can you imagine what would have happened if it had been a Republican Senator addressing a democrat female cabinet member in that manner? But then again we republicans are held to a much higher standard. Either way, the suggestion Secretary Rice is somehow less qualified to make judgments regarding the war in Iraq is utterly absurd. If anyone pales by comparison, it's Boxer, which is probably the reason for the remarks in the first place. Let's not forget, Boxer essentially called Rice a liar at her confirmation hearings. So I don't expect much in the way of tactful or dignified behavior from Senator Boxer. One of my new year's resolutions was to put up a post at least once a week. If the democrats keep up their shenanigans at this pace, it will be easy.

San Fran Nan

2007-01-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

"Most honest, most open and most ethical congress in history" That's how Nancy Pelosi described how the house will now be run. That remains to be seen, but what have seen so far is 4 days of celebration, a closed door meeting and a day off to watch football. Hardly the kind of "leadership" we were promised in her inaugural speech, but the kind I expected from a San Francisco liberal. But the biggest contradiction of all was watching her with a group of children standing at the podium. A contradiction, because she is the leader of the party that worships abortion. Keep an eye on this woman, she is in love with power. The following are comments by Dick Morris as to why Pelosi appointed Alcee Hastings, who was removed from federal judgeship for conspiring to accept a 150,000 dollar bribe, over Jane Harman for the Chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee: "Let's understand why Pelosi is pushing Hastings. It's a payoff to the Black Caucus, but it's also because Jane Harman, a fellow California female Democratic congresswoman, is the next in line in seniority, and she doesn't want a female competition. She doesn't want two aggressive Democratic women congressmen in California, in case she runs for governor or something else. She doesn't want the competition."
Why else would she appoint only the 6th person in history to be impeached from a federal judgeship? Is this how Nancy Pelosi interprets "most ethical"? I hope not, but that's probably the case.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2006-12-31T17:36:00.000-05:00

A couple of things to remember for the new year.

1: Don't go out drinking with Mel Gibson or a Cincinnati Bengal.

2: Don't visit Harlem with Michael Richards

3: Don't take any writing courses given by Lindsay Lohan.

4: Do wear clean underwear. <---- that one was for Britney Spears.

Just a couple of quick tips from your old pal Scooter.

The egg nog is on me.

2006-12-25T16:13:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas,

From the not quite as well known of Santa's helpers, the Christmas squirrel

Who's getting raped here?

2006-12-23T09:18:00.000-05:00

District Attorney Mike Nifong should be disbarred and sued into abject poverty. His case against the 3 Duke University lacrosse players accused of rape is, as far as I can see, nearly completely without merit. So far, all he can prove is that the men hired this woman to strip at a party. Let us examine what else the man knows. Genetic material was found on the woman's body and underwear from several men, and none of it from a Duke lacrosse player. Hmmmm, could that be a clue that maybe the woman is lying? Possibly trying to set up some rich kids for a nice little lawsuit? Mr. Nifong also knows the woman has changed her story several times. First it was 20 men involved in the rape, then it was 3. In one account foreign objects were used in the attack. In another account she was vaginally penetrated, now she can't remember if that happened. This most recent version of events is why the rape charge has been dropped and the charge of sexual offense put in it's place. The defense has complained that the woman has given authorities at least a dozen different versions of her story, a DOZEN! The picture you see is of the District Attorney himself, praying for evidence. Nifong's only accomplishment in this case has been ruining of a good portion of 3 men's lives. How he can continue in good conscience is well beyond me.

2006-12-04T16:16:00.000-05:00

I was deeply disappointed to hear that Ambassador John Bolton will be stepping down when his temporary appointment expires.
President Bush said in a statement today "They (democrats) chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation." Get ready for more of this now that the pinkos are in charge.
I would like to personally thank ambassador Bolton for his service. He had to hang out with some of the most vile anti-semitic people on the face of the earth and he bravely stood up to them. But, the Dems are in charge and they want someone that they feel is competent to handle international affairs. In other words a person that will fit in with the liberal politics and anti-Israel attitude that permeates the UN. Someone like say..... Jimmy Carter...... shudder.

I don't care what Michael Richards says to black people

2006-11-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

I really don't care how Michael Richards feels about black people, but this episode has pointed out one thing, the n-word deeply offends people. Not just black people, but all decent people. Maybe not when Chris Rock says it, but when it was used in the manner Richards used it.... it stung, hard . The Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of this world would prefer that you not see that the kind of vigorous racism that was the norm only 30 years ago is entirely unacceptable now, with the exception of a few ignorant fools. Do I think Richards is a racist, don't know, don't care. We tend to give some sort of special importance to what celebrities say and I find that to be an odd situation. What Richards' rant really revealed is how those remarks are just not gonna' fly, people no longer sit in uncomfortable silence when those kinds of statements are made. Unless, of course, you're Senator Robert Byrd.

Back away from the martini!

2006-10-02T14:13:00.000-05:00

Republican Congressman Mark Foley was caught sending naughty e-mails to a 16 year old boy. And what does he do? He blames it on the booze. Yes sir, alcohol turned him into a homosexual pedophile. Now I know he did not directly blame the sauce, but that is the inference when it was announced that he would be entering rehab. This is what the man said to AP: "I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate need for treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems" Yeah right. When busted, he tries to lay some of the blame on alcoholism. Face it dude, your a pervert of the worst kind, a pedophile and drinkin' got nuthin to do with it. To describe your problem as "behavioral" is a gross misrepresentation. It's time to take your medicine, not make excuses. In related news, I hear Michael Jackson is thinking of running for office.... I need a drink.

Take me out to the ball game

2006-09-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

September 9th was my birthday and I went to a ball game. The Cincinnati Reds vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates. The picture to the left is of Cincinnati's new baseball park. Compared to our old stadium, this place is an amusement park. The amount of bling in this place in unbelievable. We had great seats thanks to my lovely wife, and a good time was had by all. I was going to wax nostalgic for the good old days when a ball park needed only baseball to amuse it's patrons, but naaaah. It's a fun place, the view of the river and part of the city from the west plaza level of the stadium is fantastic. The kids have a little playground, I saw face painting and of course a radar gun to see how fast you can throw a baseball. All geared to keep the folks entertained when the game gets boring. Me, I don't need all that. The atmosphere, a cold beer, a hot dog or 2, that makes the game for me. Now keep in mind the wife and I have only been to 2 games in 16 years. In that time, hot dog prices have quadrupled, I spent over 10 dollars for 2 beers and between the 5th and 6th inning cheerleaders is skintight outfits popped up on the Red's dugout for a little T&A. Cheerleaders????? in baseball????? The fans are still the same. The guy next to me had a couple of lite beers (yuck) and he suddenly turned into Sparky Anderson. The little boy in front of me had his Ken Griffey Jr. t-shirt, Reds hat and baseball glove and desperately wanted a foul ball to come his way. The crazy screaming guy was there, not a drunk guy, just a superfan.... it said so on his baseball jersey. Today's modern ball park has a lot to offer, but as long as it doesn't change the atmosphere, and the fans can enjoy the game the way they want to, it's all good. Thanks again to my lovely wife, who took me to the ball game and is a gift to me every day. Thanks to Rob and Jo, who gave the gift of beer and a great card. Love you guys!

Marcus Fiesel

2006-09-04T14:27:00.000-05:00

Marcus Fiesel was just 3 years old when he was killed by his foster parents. They have pleaded not guilty, which comes as no surprise to me. In case you haven't heard of this case, Marcus died locked in a closet after being deprived of food and water for 2 days. The house was not air conditioned and the boy was bound. His hands tied behind his back, wrapped in a blanket and further bound with duct tape around the blanket. The foster parents Liz and David Carroll claimed they didn't know doing this might kill the boy. I guess they're not very bright, or more likely, they're flat lying. Either way, it has always been my opinion that stupidity or incompetence (as in an attempted murder that failed) should not disqualify you from receiving the death penalty. I'm a little late blogging about this because I wanted to make sure that I really wanted to see these people dead, that it was not just the emotion talking. By the way, the Carrolls did this so that they could go to a family reunion without the burden of having Marcus along, which further demonstrates how utterly self absorbed they are. There are no words strong enough to describe how despicable these people are. The appropriate sentence for Liz and David Carroll is the death penalty. Let the punishment fit the crime.

I am a cowboy!

2006-08-30T11:54:00.000-05:00

Those of you who are fans of the comedian Bill Engvall, understand the humor in the title of this entry. I challenged the Tail of the Dragon and survived. Let me tell you, that road is no joke. My concentration lapsed just for a moment, and I was instantly on the other side of the road. I had too much speed and overcooked the corner, then I target fixated on the ditch. I tore my eyes away and forced myself to look through the corner and pulled it back together and made it through, but it was a pucker moment to say the least. The picture to the left is a close-up of the tree of shame where chunks of crashed motorcycles are placed to appease the dragon, a lot like throwing virgins into volcanoes and the like. That road is the reason I bought a motorcycle, I just didn't know it at the time. It is without a doubt, the most fun you can have on 2 wheels. I have lots of pictures so look for more posts very soon!

318 turns in 11 miles, WOW!

2006-08-27T06:12:00.000-05:00

The roads are wet, thunderstorms loom in my chosen path, but when has it been easy to slay a dragon? Well, slay is a bit strong, I'm just trying not to get my butt chewed off. I'm headed to the Tail of the Dragon this morning through some beautiful state parks and Kentucky countryside, my trusty steed packed to the gills. With a little luck and if the weather holds, there will be several hundred good miles of riding, my longest trip so far. Wish me luck!

What's a little touch up?

2006-08-19T07:46:00.000-05:00

Many of you were aghast at the idea of Reuters using doctored photos sold to them by people who obviously had an axe to grind, and most of you were not surprised when it came to light.
I started collecting a few photos before the scandal surfaced and Reuters was forced to remove all of the photos by the offending "journalist". But what about the every day pictures, not doctored ones, but pictures that have an obvious bias?

Was this Reuters shot of the Vice President taken with the word "retire" accidentally in the background? The shot of the President was clearly unflattering but yet it was published, very disrespectful.

I submit that it's not the blatant forgeries that show the bias, that just shows sloppiness. It's the day to day pictures that tell the real story. To be fair, I also searched Reuters photos of Bill Clinton and lo and behold.... they were all complimentary. What a surprise! No contorted faces or suggestive words in the background. Just a lot of lip biting and adulation. Let's face it folks, Reuters, AP, UPI etc. are all littered with libs and it shows in their reporting. If a picture's worth a thousand words, these suckers write the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Dragon update:

2006-07-16T11:22:00.000-05:00

My planning and preparations for my trip to the Tail of the Dragon continue. I'll be going with my friend Big Chris at the end of August . This past Monday, I went to Iron Pony Motorsports in Columbus, Ohio to pick up some wet weather gear (just in case), saddlebags, and a tire repair kit. To make some time, I tried to keep a pace that was just a bit above the speed limit. Well, the man caught me.... breakin' the law! breakin' the law! Clocked at 86 in a 65-- a stupid mistake on my part, speeding past a weigh station. On top of that I knew the Ohio Highway Patrol was in the midst of a statewide speeding crackdown because speed kills! Riiiight, revenue enhancement is the reason. But he was a nice guy, he asked me about the bike in a freindly manner and I was detained for no more that 15 minutes. Anyway, the dates are set, the gear (for the most part) has been purchased and after the bike has been in for it's 7000 mile service I will be ready to go! Visit Killboy.com for pictures of the folks and their amazing machines braving the Dragon.

I have a secret

2006-06-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have an important secret. I visited the home of one of the most important, and possibly least well known figures, of the Revolutionary War. He was Captain Jack Jouett, the Paul Revere of the south. His lesser known ride saved Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Benjamin Harrison and Thomas Nelson from capture from the feared Colonel "bloody" Tarleton, known for not taking prisoners. He rode 40 miles through the woods, to Paul Revere's 15 miles on paved roads. Why isn't he as famous as Paul Revere? As the tour guide from our last historic house put it. Do you know the poem written about Paul Revere? Listen my children and you shall hear the midnight ride of Paul Revere. We all nodded our heads. Then she asked... what rhymes with Jouett? Good point.

MEMEMEMEME

2006-06-18T08:50:00.000-05:00

I was tagged with a meme by my lovely wife, who likes to see if she can make me do things. I was to search my birthdate, just the date, at Wikipedia. I was to find 2 birthdays and one obituary. Here's the first birthday that caught my eye, Mario Batali. Mario, if you are not a watcher of food network, is a chef that specializes in Italian food. He and I appear to have the same philosophy of cooking, quality ingredients and careful execution are the keys to excellent cooking. Not to say my his skill level is anywhere near his. You want to be a spectactular cook? don't cut corners on ingredients or method, build flavors from start to finish.

The second birthday that caught my eye was Colonel Sanders. Anyone who strives to make the perfect fried chicken is alright in my book. It's only fittin' that the man is a native Kentuckian.

Mao Zedong, Mao Tse-Tung or Mousey Dung, whatever you called the man, he died on the 9th of September. Better dead than red? He's both.

Why I love Ann Coulter.

2006-06-10T11:25:00.000-05:00

Thank god for Ann Coulter. Her most recent controversial comments regarding some 911 widows have drawn harsh criticism from all sides, but mainly from lefties. Her main point was lost in the hoopla surrounding one line: "I have never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much", referring to their notoriety. I'm certain that she didn't mean they would prefer not to have their husbands. Her point was, that the left likes to use "untouchables" to make political points that subsequently cannot be responded to, or you risk being seen as attacking a victim. Brilliant tactic, especially if you are hiding an agenda. The activists/widows Coulter was referring to are: Kristin Breitweiser, Patty Casazza, Mindy Kleinberg and Lori Van Auken. I did a search for each woman individually and came upon some very interesting information. Each woman believes that the attacks on 9/11 could have been prevented and they pin the blame on the Bush administration, which at that point had only been in charge for less than a year. Not one of these women had any questions or criticisms for anyone from the previous administration, who as we all know had the opportunity to get Bin Laden and had terrorist attacks on their watch as well. They are suggesting, through hindsight, that the attacks could have been prevented by looking at clues accumulated after the fact and using that evidence to prove that only the Bush administration was negligent. These women are liberal activists of the same ilk as Cindy Sheehan. If you don't believe me, read what Kristin Breitweiser wrote on the Huffington Post here. If that's not enough, how about this juicy little quote from Lorie Van Auken from an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews: "We also know that people stopped flying domestically. Ashcroft stopped flying. Pentagon officials stopped flying. They were warned not to fly on September 11th. We think San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was told not to fly." And no one is supposed to question statements like that? Coulter was merely stating the truth, all political commentary is subject to criticism, even if it comes from the mouth of a widow, she just did it Ann Coulter style.

Fingers crossed

2006-06-04T11:01:00.000-05:00

My garden has been in for a couple of weeks, tomatoes, peppers (hot and bell) and cucumbers. I put in a little extra effort and put down a weed barrier and larger tomato cages. So far all of the plants are growing like they're on crack. I will track the progress with pictures and tomato poundage somewhere on the site.

Cloey

2006-05-15T13:04:00.000-05:00

My cat, Cloey, had to be euthanized last week after a battle with a long list of age related health problems. He was 18 years old. Cloey was a grouchy old man from the day he was born. That's not to say he didn't have his good points, he also liked to bite people. He was the master of biting you without breaking the skin but making it hurt. It didn't matter what you were doing, petting him, combing him, when he had enough, chomp! Any time curious children were around they were warned, don't touch Cloey.

As a tiny kitten, he lived for a short period of time with a Rottweiler named Caesar. For some reason, this made him unafraid of dogs, which was not a problem because he was an indoor cat. If the neighbors dog came to the back sliding glass door, the other cats would leave, cartoon style, but Cloey didn't budge. The dog would be barking his head off and Cloey would just stand there, staring at him.

As he got older, he became more affectionate and less prone to bite. He also developed a thyroid problem and a heart murmur. The thyroid problem caused him to lose weight, but it's also a mechanism that allows the cats body to protect the kidneys. Either one would kill him. The treatment is to correct the thyroid problem just enough to allow the cat to gain weight, but not stress the kidneys. This is accomplished using medication for the thyroid and and special food to support the kidneys. We were able to give Cloey about 4 more months with this treatment.

It's amazing to me how many things remind me of him. When I wake up in the morning, my first thoughts are that I have to get up and give Cloey his medicine and food. I still expect to see him in his usual places and I sometimes I think I hear his demanding meow, even though he's been gone for a week. I suppose over time, those impulses will fade, but I will remember Cloey in all of the stages of his life, as a kitten, in his prime, as you see below, and as an old man who held on to life with the tenacity of a tiger.

May day

2006-04-30T09:59:00.000-05:00

This is the image that pops into my head when I think of immigration. A family fresh from their native country full of hope, a little trepidation and a whole lot of grit and determination. A romantic view for sure, but it's what I see in the faces in pictures like these. My father came to this country from Hungary, my wife's mother, from Okinawa. Both learned to speak English and worked and raised families. It would have never even occurred to my father to live in this country and not speak the language. His grammar was impeccable. He spoke with a thick accent that I was so used to I didn't really hear it. To this day when I'm around someone with a Hungarian accent I know it immediately but it doesn't sound like an accent to me. I love accents, Italian, Arabic, French, Japanese, Hungarian, Scottish you name it, I like it. I love the contributions immigrants have made to our society. I'm not talking about the scientific or industrial contributions, that goes without saying, but the flavors and style they bring with them. Food, artwork, architecture, clothing, music, etc., all enhanced by ideas by people from other countries. It has made America a rich and varied place to live.

This, I fear is the new face of immigration, here illegally, ungratefully and full of anger and protest. Note the A.N.S.W.E.R. protest sign in the background. These illegals have aligned themselves with the commies. They held their protest on International Workers Day! A friggin pinko holiday! May day is a thinly veiled celebration of the idea of socialism, to make romantic the struggle of the laborer against corporations or whatever. I'm not lumping all immigrants in with these yahoos, but if 11 million illegals are falling for the tripe ladled out by the likes of A.N.S.W.E.R. and others, we are in for some trouble. If the first contribution of these new immigrants is to celebrate the fact that they are illegals and to demand rights, what's next?

Getting earthy

2006-04-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

How did I spend my earthday? I ran the lawnmower, the weed-whacker (which has a 2 cycle engine, so I burned oil and gas at the same time) and drove the car to the grocery store. So I ran 3 engines and to top it all off, I burned charcoal to cook my dinner. All in all, I consider it a successful earth day. I didn't even know it was earth day. I do what I always do, knowing that cutting the grass, driving the car, cooking on the grill, burning stuff, using energy, etc., is not killing the earth. The earth is 3 billion years old, we have maybe, 200 years of reliable meteorological data, yet we are willing to say that the earth is warming to levels that will cause catastrophic climate change. And even more arrogantly, we believe that our puny little actions are causing it, or could reverse it. A few billion people verses the energy of a white dwarf star as it reflects it's heat and light on our world. What we need is more reasonable thinking and less agenda based lying.

My friend Rob did something a little more worthwhile for earth day, go check it out.

My wife did something difficult and important, something I hopefully will be able to do someday with the Patriot Guard. Be sure to drop by for some coffee and a little music.

Bad idea.

2006-04-09T12:06:00.000-05:00

Shouldn't this one be obvious?
Does anyone really need to be told not to do this?

Thank you Mr. President

2006-04-03T18:54:00.000-05:00

Opening day is always special in Cincinnati. We were the first professional baseball team, then known as the Cincinnati Redlegs. It has been the tradition that the first major league game of the year is played in Cincinnati. On top of that, President Bush threw out the first pitch. No one hopper either, all the way from the pitchers mound to home plate. It was good to see the president back in the tri-state, not for political reasons but just to participate in our opening day. The fans were polite and there were only a few protesters, all in all it went very smoothly. George was just another fan today, albeit a very important fan. Appearing in the announcer booth and talking with long time Reds announcer Marty Brennaman on the radio and just generally being his charming homespun self. The Cubbys beat the stuffing out of us, but that's okay. Opening day is more about the tradition, the Findlay Market parade and the opening of the season than it is about winning.

Still intolerant

2006-03-26T13:34:00.000-05:00

Freedom of religion does not exist in Afghanistan. The fear of Christianity spreading through was is an Islamic nation almost led to the execution of this man pictured on the left, Abdul Rahman. My dear friend Rob wrote about this very same subject just a few days ago. The Jedi Master is frustrated and probably a bit angry, that an Afghan court would seek to execute a man for converting to Christianity. Have we removed the Taliban from power only to see another group of intolerant Muslims oppress the Afghan people? I now have to say it appears that way, at least in this instance. As Rob said in his post "I believe that the outcome of this situation may reveal the true nature of Islam." You're probably asking yourself, why all the negativity? They let the guy go didn't they? Sure they let him go, only because of international pressure. They came up with some sort of lame cover that there was insufficient evidence. Well that begs the question, what if they had enough evidence? Were it not for international pressure, he would have surely been executed. So what am I saying? The Islamic fundamentalists that apparently still wield a lot of power learned a valuable lesson, the next time the trial will be short and secret. The convicted party will be executed quickly and we will not hear a word about it.

Dragon update

2006-03-20T22:33:00.000-05:00

Tail of the Dragon update: I have a new helmet, the Icon Hooligan, in green of course. I have a new tank bag, tire pressure gauge and paint protecting film to go under the new tank bag, all from Iron Pony Motorsports in Columbus Ohio. I'm back on the weight loss program, I had a little setback regarding my 41 year old knees not cooperating, but they're all better now and I'm doing my walking and weightlifting again. I'm about 20 pounds away from my goal weight and miles away from how fit I would like to be. But I'm still working at it, and that's what counts!

<---- Hooligan

Shoot to kill boys

2006-03-19T22:41:00.000-05:00

The spoiled frenchy French people are at it again. They are protesting a new law that would allow French employers to fire workers within the first 2 years of hire without cause. In other words, new employees would become what most of us have been all our lives... at will employees. Most of the people protesting (as far as I can see from the coverage, I have no actual hard numbers) are students. The French solution to civil matters.... BURN THE CARS! But this time they have gone too far, they have burned an innocent motorcycle. Shoot to kill boys!

2006-03-10T09:21:00.000-05:00

You know I couldn't let this go by without comment. A species of rodent though to have been extinct for 11 million years has been discovered in central Laos. It has the face of the rat and the tail of a squirrel and long whiskers. Handsome little guy isn't he.

The dragon is calling

2006-03-02T09:25:00.000-05:00

You may be wondering why I haven't posted in a while. I'm planning a trip to North Carolina, to the infamous Tail of the Dragon. This particular section of U.S. 129 has 318 turns in 11 miles, in other words, a sportbiker's paradise. I'm preparing in the same manner as Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman did in the BBC series, the Long Way Round, just on a much smaller scale. I won't be needing sponsors or a chase vehicle like Ewan and Charley because my trip if only a few hundred miles away. Despite the proximity I am trying to make the ride to the dragon as interesting as the ride on the dragon by avoiding major highways and using state routes and back roads. All of that is still in the planning stages. First I need to lose about 20 pounds, get a tankbag and other luggage and a new helmet. I will keep you updated.

Show us your.....uhh... dedication

2006-02-20T13:58:00.000-05:00

Shepherd Smith, Campbell Brown, Aaron Brown and especially Anderson Cooper were all wrong. Not just a little bit wrong, but epic proportions wrong. Not just about the events in the Superdome, which they got wrong by reporting rumors as fact. Not just what race had the most deaths, as it turns out white and black people died in equal proportion to their percentage of the population. But their biggest error, and that's saying something, was the TOXIC SOUP! I'm sure you remember the dire predictions... New Orleans uninhabitable for at least 10 years! Cleanup will take years! and so on. Somebody forgot to tell that to all those people who are currently parading their butts off down in the big easy. Main stream media, foiled again.

McStremists

2006-02-19T11:17:00.000-05:00

Would somebody please tell me what the clown did to arouse such violence from Muslim extremists? What could that beloved, red haired dispenser of hamburgers possibly have done?

Oh sure, you can go with the old tried and true... the clown is a symbol of western capitalism and decadence. I think it goes a little deeper... they're jealous. The clown is successful, they are not. The clown builds, they destroy. It's a crude illustration I know, but it seems obvious to me that the extremists cannot stand success so they try to kill it. Not defeat it in a fair competition, kill it. This encourages me because in the long run, this method never works.

Stoner Olympics

2006-02-13T22:35:00.000-05:00

What has become of the Olympics? After watching the snowboarders, I am astounded that this has become an official Olympic event. It's sort of the stoner and valley girl event of the games. If you think I'm exaggerating, just listen to a couple of interviews. Even the Olympics, an event that used to have a sort of epic quality to it, has been dumbed down with clumsy juvenile sports that lower the bar of international competition. The current crop of snowboarders, to a person, act as if they are all on the chronic. This sport should be removed from the Olympics before it does any more damage to the dignity of the games. It needs to be back on ESPN 2 or whatever the most obscure sports channel is, and removed from legitimate sports venues permanently.

Jedi scootertrash

2006-02-12T13:15:00.000-05:00

I've found the perfect motorcyle for Jedi Master Rob. Can't you just see him? Light saber by his side, cloak trailing in the wind, snapping through the tight turns of our wonderful Kentucky country roads. Taking a day or 2 day trip with someone who say, has a green Ninja 600 R who lives nearby. To, maybe somewhere like the Tail of the Dragon where a person could, after the break in period, air out a new bike. Or just ride around on the twisties in his own backyard. The 650 R is the next generation 500 R. Up to date styling, but more importantly, completely new engine, much better brakes and centralized mass for spectacular handling. This is your bike Jedi Master Rob! Let's take some rides together.

Responsibility

2006-02-05T16:30:00.000-05:00

Images of Prophets are prohibited in the Islamic religion. It is a very great insult indeed, to do so. Movies or television programs made about Muhammad contain no images of him whatsoever. They use footprints, a cloak draped over an invisible figure and other devices to indicate his presence. This prohibition includes images of Jesus Christ. The depiction of the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb is a double insult. First the image, then the unflattering message. I support the right of all newspapers to publish anything they deem fit. However, this slavish devotion to freedom of the press with no look towards it's responsibilities is a bad combination. The European Press' continued publishing of the image of Muhammad shows how callous they have become to all religions. The fact that they know it's an insult and do it anyway, shows how self absorbed they are. I see no great threat to the freedom of the press by showing respect for a religion by not publishing something. I thoroughly condemn those who think that the way to protest against these publications is to kill and commit arson. I also think that it is fine to be critical of Muslims if deserved, even if it means the reaction you see in the picture. The press should expose wrongs and write editorials condemning bad behavior, but it should be done in a responsible and mature way. This applies to all religions. What they are now doing seems a bit childish and petulant to me. Nah nah nah nah nah, we can publish pictures of the prophet, and you can't stop us! Even though they know they should. They regularly show contempt for Christians, which is also wrong. Suggesting Christians are homophobic (don't get me started on that word) and seek to subjugate women. These themes are all too common in the very liberal Europeon press. Too clarify my position, it is equally irresponsible to intentionally insult Christians as it is Muslims. But you know the left wing press, all about the freedom.... nothing about the responsibility.

Pure political theatre

2006-01-30T16:48:00.000-05:00

Ted Kennedy, the king of grandstanding, second only to Joe Biden, is confused. He, like Hillary Clinton, thinks that the role of a Supreme Court Judge is to advance liberal causes. He said this about Judge Alito..."he failed to demonstrate a commitment to the continued march of progress." You begin to wonder what the senior balloon from Massachusetts, as talk show host Laura Ingraham calls him, was thinking. That statement is devoid of content. It sounds good, it means nothing. Here's another quote suggesting that Judge Alito will somehow overturn equal opportunity laws... "If you care about the equal opportunity for employment for women. It's not going to be Judge Alito" The quote sounds a bit awkward, but you get the gist of what he's saying. Senator Kennedy is under the false impression that he can say anything and we will swallow it hook line and sinker. Does he think that the American people are so ignorant as to believe the Judge Alito can just magically start changing the laws just because he dons a robe? I think we at least need some cases to rule on before something is declared unconstitutional and therefore illegal. The confirmation hearings for Judge Alito did a wonderful thing, it exposed just how woefully ignorant Democrats like Ted Kennedy really are.

President Hillary Clinton.

2006-01-29T10:34:00.000-05:00

If all the rumors are true, this woman wants to be your president. Lets examine the most recent position she has taken regarding the Supreme Court confirmation vote of Judge Samuel Alito. Senator Hillary Clinton wants a filibuster! Saying ..."I oppose his nomination and support efforts to block his confirmation" And why you ask? Hillary explains: "I do not think Judge Alito would advance the principles that Americans hold most dear" Hillary, who is a lawyer and a Senator, does not know what a Supreme Court Judge is supposed to do. It is not the job of a Supreme Court Judge to advance an agenda or principles, but to interpret the law as it is written, not how they would like it to be written. Pulling words and phrases out of the Constitution and twisting them beyond recognition to suit your needs or agenda is fraudulent behavior. This is the kind of Judge Hillary would like to see sitting on the Supreme Court and this woman wants to be your president.

Congratulations

2006-01-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

Excellent work by our neighbors to the north in electing a conservative to head their government. I'm sure Wonder Woman, that sexy Canadian blogger, is on cloud nine. It's the blogosphere, and particularly bloggers like Wonder Woman with her ability to cut through the political fog with insightful and entertaining commentary, that wins the hearts and minds. Congratulations!

P.S. Thanks to Pappy over at SACoftomatoes for this little gem from Michael Moore. I guess talking down to Americans wasn't enough. Is there anyone more full of themselves (insert fat joke here) than Michael Moore?

Mice 2, Moles 1....Cats 0

2006-01-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

For the 3rd time, Charlotte, Chloe, Sidney, Gracie and Ginger (our beloved cats) have failed to protect our house from the local vermin. No, not the neighbor's kids-- mice and moles. The first time it was mole in the basement. His loud squeaking alerted my wife, we went downstairs, scooped him up and let him go in my compost pile. The second time it was a mouse, the supposed natural enemy of the cat...... I wandered downstairs one Saturday morning to find 2 of our cats, Chloe and Sidney, staring at a corner of our dining room. These 2 do not normally get along well enough to sit near one another so I decided to look a little closer. What did I find? A cute little mouse, it's tiny little paws folded over his adorable little brown eyes in an attempt to shield himself from what would surely be an attack from a beast so violent as to consume him in a single gulp. Of course he's never met either Sidney or Chloe before and was not acquainted with their lack of ability to gulp. I went back upstairs and brought down the wife so she could see this anomaly of nature and then we scooped up the mouse in a cup and released him outside. The 2nd mouse was apparently hanging out in the house for a couple of days, and again my wife noticed it first. She observed that Charlotte, a particularly unforgiving cat, was unusually interested in the area around our dryer. A few minutes later a mouse appeared next to the sliding glass door and was immediately surrounded by 4 curious cats on the attack! However, this was no ordinary rodent! Reared up on his hind legs he was swatting back at these killer felines, chief among them the most fearsome of them all, the Momma! Ginger! Ginger is the mother of Charlotte and Gracie and not to be trifled with. The courageous little mouse held his ground long enough for us to get another rescue cup, and impressed with this display of courage, we scooped up the little gladiator and set him free in the garden. In summation, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog, or mouse.

Hello? Is it ever dusty in here!

2006-01-14T15:33:00.000-05:00

After a couple of weeks and a new hard drive, I'm back online. Thanks to Wonder Woman for taking time out of her busy schedule to post for me. Thanks to Rob for visiting and thanks to my wife because it's always a good idea to thank the wife even if you don't have a specific reason. Lots of things have happened since I was sidelined. Harry Belafonte called President Bush the "the greatest terrorist in the world" (I see coffee mug potential here) while sitting next to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Ted Kennedy was being Ted Kennedy and likewise for Diane Feinstein, Chucky Schumer and of course the great prevaricator, Joe Biden. All this great stuff happened and all I can do is yell at the radio! Oh well, that's all in the past, I'm back, and loving every minute of it.

Auld Lang Syne

2005-12-31T21:12:00.000-05:00

Leave the year behind you...

Since the ruse is up at Cathy's Place, I won't try to fool you all into thinking that I'm Michael. Besides, I am certain that he is both far better looking and much more witty, than I.

I am Wonder Woman, and I will be your hostess, while we usher out the event-filled year that was 2005. Due to technical difficulties, Michael cannot be with you for this celebration, so you're stuck with me - deal with it!

In honor of Michael, and his horticultural fixation, I officially declare 2006 as the "Year of the Tomato", which is not generally recognized by the Chinese calendar, but I believe may fall into an obscure category under the astrological charts of expat-Hungarians who drink a lot of Bourbon. Actually, in the time I have known Michael, (through the blog) a few things have become very clear to me...He loves tomatoes...loves to go site-seeing with his lovely wife...has a strange fixation with squirrels...and a real hate-on for celebrities. This last one, I love him for, the most! Although squirrels can be rather fascinating...

Am I rambling now? Sheesh...I should have done this at Cathy's blog! Can you tell that I am writing this after 6 Scotches and a rowdy game of Euchre? Am I sounding as lame as I think I am? It's gotta be time for sleep...

Anyway, on behalf of Michael, Cathy, the cats...and the squirrels...Have a splendid New Year! And if you pray hard enough, maybe Michael will be back soon, and you won't be subjected to any more of my drunken ramblings...

Before I go to bed, I would like to say...I'm glad I know you Michael and Cathy. I'm glad you introduced me to your friends Rob and JoAnna. My year has been more complete, since I've sort-of met you...you complete me...ya, I know. LAME! And now it's time for bed...

Sidney Claus

2005-12-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from Sidney Claus!

Jungle Jim's

2005-12-25T20:00:00.000-05:00

If you are ever in the Greater Cincinnati area, I highly recommend Jungle Jim's international market. It is the most fun you'll ever have shopping for food. Even if you don't need anything, just go and look around. I guarantee you've never seen anything like it. In a world of cookie cutter, generic grocery stores (Meyers, Krogers, Walmart and the like) it stands alone, a tribute to quality and creativity. Here's an example; the antique fire truck you see below is hoisted above what has to be the largest selection of hot sauces in the world!

Want some cheese?

Inside the box you see above, is provolone cheese aging in a climate controlled environment. When it has reached maturity it will be portioned and sold. I've been walking past that display for 2 years now. When this big guy is ready, I'll be at the front of the line.

What sold me more on Jungle Jim's more than anything else is what you see above,Gyulai sausage. They always have it. This particular brand of Hungarian sausage is the brand that my father (an actual Hungarian) loved. We would go to Otto's to buy this smoked delight and I remember my father talking to the proprietor in Hungarian and feeling like I was back in the old country. Even though I've never been to Hungary. You always feel at home at Jungle Jim's

Pedro serenades you while you shop for Mexican food.

An animated Robin Hood and his merry band of men are overhead as you shop for products from the U.K. All sorts of surprises await you a Jungle Jim's, too many to list here. It is truly a unique store and a worthwhile destination for foodies from anywhere in the world.

I have socks older than that

2005-12-18T12:29:00.000-05:00

Jessica Simpson officially filed for divorce Friday citing irreconcilable differences. If they were only married for 3 years, how could they possibly know their differences were irreconcilable? This is the second time I've posted regarding these two and you may be wondering why I should care about another celebrity divorce. I'll tell you why, I've always been curious as to what causes a couple to divorce after such a short period of time. Not just celebrities, but anyone. I've endlessly grilled my wife about the causes of several divorces of couples who's weddings we've attended. Other than the instances of adultery, there were no satisfactory explanations for giving up so quickly. I heard such things as we don't get along, money issues, personality conflicts and so on. But all couples have these problems to some extent. What makes some people give up so quickly? Let's go back to Nick and Jessica. This couple was celebrated, not just because of their fame, but because of their relationship. Her virginity at marriage, the MTV reality show, the whole 9 yards. When a couple who makes such a big deal about taking marriage seriously divorces so quickly it sends yet another message that all things, marriage included, are disposable. A message that I believe is being heard and acted upon.

That's gratitude for ya'

2005-12-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Dennis Prager, one of my favorite radio talk show hosts, believes that one of the worst things you can be is ungrateful. Mary J. Blige is the poster child for ungrateful. In an article in the Guardian Unlimited Mary said the following: "The blacker you are, the worse it is for you. If you are mixed, you've got a shot. If you cater to what white America wants you to do and how they want you to look, you can survive. But if you want to be yourself and try to do things that fit you and your skin, nobody cares about that. At the end of the day, white America dominates and rules. And it's racist." Here is a woman who has at least 3 recordings that have gone double platinum or better. America has afforded her the opportunity to make her living as a singer. Her fans, black and white alike, have made her a very wealthy woman by purchasing her CDs and attending her concerts. What does Mary have to say? "white America dominates and rules. And it's racist" Mary, you are an ungrateful person. I don't care how tough your childhood was or what mean streets you came from. To insult your fans and America is a terrible thing to do. I think my favorite part of what Mary says in the interview is that she has to cater to "what white America wants" This from the woman who is credited with the "ghetto fabulous" fashion trend, according to the same article. How is this catering to white America? This woman is so riddled with self contradiction it's nauseating. If you can stand it, read the entire article. I think the writing is pretentious and fawning and at times downright silly, but you be the judge. In the meantime I will be keeping an eye out for these little gems of obnoxious celebrity behavior and reporting them to you.

P.S. Spell check wanted me to replace Blige with Bilge (the slang definition being, according to dictionary.com: Stupid talk or writing; nonsense....... perfect.

Now that Tookie is dead....

2005-12-17T12:18:00.000-05:00

Now that Tookie is dead, I want to make something clear. Some people, and by some people I mean the Susan Sarandons of this world, think death penalty proponents are out for blood and revenge. I'm sure that there are some that are, but I am not one of them. Tookie died a rather easy death, other than the anxiety of knowing you are about to die, lethal injection is designed to be painless. That is significantly unlike how Tookies victims died. We resist the urge to take revenge upon an animal like Tookie and yet justice was still satisfied in his humane execution. I'm happy a murderer was killed, but I'm sad that a life was wasted. To be a liberal you must believe that the surgical killing of an innocent baby is OK, however the surgical killing of convicted murderer, thief and gang banger is not.

Is Tookie dead yet?

2005-12-12T09:35:00.000-05:00

Celebrities have come out in support of Stanley "Tookie" Williams. They want his death sentence commuted to life in prison. Here is the list: Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dog, Ed Asner, Bianca Jagger, Jesse Jackson, Mike Farrell, Margaret Cho <--I hate that woman... Jason Alexander, Laurence Fishburn, Danny Glover (stick to Pilates infomercials Danny), Anjelica Houston, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Sarandon, Noah Wyle and Tim Robbins <-- I hate that man. Here are the folks that are not celebrities who will not have a chance at clemency. Yen-I Yang, Tsai-Shai Yang, Yee Chen Lin and Albert Owens. All killed by "Tookie" with a 12 gauge shotgun. He bragged and joked about the way they suffered and died to fellow inmates. He should have been killed a long time ago. I don't care if the man wrote a million childrens books. I don't care if he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. They gave Yasser Arafat the Nobel Peace prize so that tells you how much that's worth. The people that give out that award must have gravel for brains. I have a proposal for all those "compassionate" celebrities who want Tookie to live. We commute his death sentence to house arrest. First, he lives with Jamie Foxx in his house for a year or so, then, with Ed Asner. Followed by Tim Robbins and Margaret Cho and down the list. If one celeb didn't want to do it, no deal. If that deal was his only hope for clemency, Tookie would be a dead man.

Shopping

2005-12-10T10:32:00.000-05:00

Wish me luck, the wife and I are going shopping today, something she calls "power shopping". I used to dread Christmas shopping until we set up some rules that put the joy back into the experience. Rule #1: (this rule is for me) No impatient driving, that includes comments about the skills of the other drivers and maintaining a calm demeanor. I have to admit I should try and do this all the time, but people in Kentucky suffer from KMDD, Kentucky Merge Deficiency Disorder. They can't merge to save their life. Rule #2: No matter how sullen, rude, slow, vapid, silly or just plain incompetent the people we deal with today are, we will wish them a Merry Christmas or at least give them a smile. <--- not always an easy rule to follow. Rule #3: Under no circumstances are we to be anything less than completely pleasant and polite to each other at all times. With just a few simple ground rules a day that should be fun, is, once again. If you find that stress is taking the joy out of the holidays for you, just be nice and you will find that the joy will return.

Merry Christmas, now get out!

2005-11-27T13:20:00.000-05:00

Nick and Jessica, that much fawned over uber-couple, have separated. I'm sure when the hoopla dies down and the lawyers finish divvying up the booty, (the money not Jessica's) they will announce the divorce. As far as their marriage is concerned, we were sold a big fat lie. A packaged, marketed, glossy bill of goods that the entertainment industry sells with regularity. These folks use and mock marriage (unless it's gay marriage) for money and I'm sick of it. I can see the meeting now at the proposal for their reality show. She, America's favorite virgin at marriage and he, the handsome, muscular down to earth husband from Cincinnati. They exploit her ridiculous stupidity and throw in a couple of domestic blunders for good measure. He is understanding and patient and tries to be romantic, cut the grass, kill some bees.... blah blah blah. Am I suggesting that the entire marriage was a set up? I'm not totally sure. One thing is certain, these two people are not who the press releases said they were and they willingly went along with it for 3 years. Their entire stinkin' marriage lasted 3 years! I have underwear older than that, heck I have holes in my underwear older than that. MTV has done it again, they made a show about a marriage in which the show lasted longer than the actual marriage.

P.S. Spell check wanted me to replace "Jessica's" with "cheesecake"

Earth to celebrities

2005-11-23T23:11:00.000-05:00

Did you see Earth to America on TBS? If you didn't, it was a variety program with a message about global warming. As you would imagine it turned into a bash President Bush festival. So, to those who participated in that train wreck of a program...... without your fans, you do not exist. Eric Idle, Steve Martin, Bill Maher, Tom Hanks, Larry David, Martin Short, Dustin Hoffman, Will Ferrell, Robin Williams, Julia Louise Dreyfus, Jack Black, Ben stiller, Wanda Sykes, Kevin Nealon, Ray Romano, Cedric "The Entertainer", Tim McGraw (what would Tug think of your throwing in with these pinkos), Leonardo DiCaprio, the American Express corporation, and , you will not get another dime from me. The show was pompous, insulting and inaccurate. To be fair I caught only the second hour, but I think I can safely assume the first hour was garbage as well. They suggested that because President Bush didn't sign the Kyoto treaty the polar ice caps were going to melt and the coastlines would be under 10-15 feet of water. Never mind that all the calculations of reputable scientists say that if that happened the ocean may rise a total of 1 foot, but might not rise at all. That is just a taste of the bad science aired on Earth to America. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but if you purposefully participate in an show filled with lies and propaganda I will no longer pay money to see you do what you do.

Earth to Celebrities... I am done with you!!

Cindy has a book! Anybody surprised?

2005-11-20T08:43:00.000-05:00

America's favorite left wing nut job will be releasing a book November 23rd. I got this picture from my wife who got it from The People's Cube. So, get ready for the media blitz promoting a woman who is advancing her left wing agenda by exploiting the death of her son who honorably served his country. I cannot imagine going any lower than that. Cindy's sliminess knows no bounds. Take a look at this butt smooching, puff piece of an article announcing (or possibly worshipping) the arrival of Cindy's new book. I'm sure this is just the first of many fawning, doe eyed, crocodile tear soaked, nauseating articles that will populate all the left wing rags and mags. I can't wait!

Frenchy Frenchman

2005-11-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

Call the French what you want, frogs, cheese eating surrender monkeys, but those folks sure have compassion! Compassion to the point of death and destruction. Why wasn't this riot quelled when it first began? No one has the right to destroy the property of others, to injure and commit crimes at will. Emboldened by the lack of aggressive response by the police, I'm sure at the orders of their superiors, the riots have spread to 300 towns. Here's the count, 4700 vehicles burned (let's hope they were all Le Cars) 39 policemen injured and one 61 year old man dead. The rioters see the weakness and lack of resolve on the part of French officials and they are inspired to burn more cars and injure more cops. It is utterly despicable. What have we learned from this situation? All the rocks, gunfire and Molotov cocktails in the world can destroy cars and buildings but cannot kill the clown.

Photos courtesy of AP and AFP.

Clip clop clip clop BANG! clip clop clip clop BANG!

2005-10-31T11:19:00.000-05:00

What goes- clip clop clip clop BANG! clip clop clip clop BANG!....... An Amish drive by. My lovely wife and I ventured out into Amish country this weekend and we were blown away by the all enveloping beauty of the place. It is an amazingly calming place.
Fall is my favorite time of the year. The vibrant colors, cooler weather and clear bright skies. I love the transition from the lush green of summertime to the reds, yellows and browns of the foliage preparing for winter. The fall sunlight casts a softer more golden tone than the harsher summer sunlight. I love the fresh, tart apples and fall decorations like bundles of corn stalks, pumpkins and bittersweet. So, make a pile of leaves, snuggle with your sweetie, eat a caramel apple and enjoy the bounty that fall brings.

Rioting 101

2005-10-16T08:34:00.000-05:00

These people appear to be protesters. They have signs, they look somewhat organized. They appear to dislike Nazis. They want the Nazis to "go home" and "get out", who wouldn't? They won! The Nazis cancelled their Rally. So what did the "protesters" do? They hurled rocks at the police providing security for the rally. Not the smartest way to celebrate a victory. But that wasn't enough celebration.

And........

The looting and vandalism wasn't enough to prompt police to mount an assault and clear the rioters out of the area, even though they were just a few blocks away. It took a fire to get them on the move. All of this protesting a rally that never occurred.

What can we conclude from this and other recent events? Looting and vandalism are now legal! So the next time the power goes out or a storm blows through or someone comes to your neighborhood that you don't agree with, go to the nearest store and clear the shelves! Break windows, commit arson, turn over cars it's a free for all!

To borrow and modify a phrase uttered by George Bush, this is the hard bigotry of accepting lawless behavior from certain minorities.

Are you sure this is wrestlin?

2005-10-15T05:31:00.000-05:00

Is there any place you can take your kid that is not completely soaked with vulgarity? When I was a boy, a father could take his son to wrestling. A hot dog, some fake violence, cartoonish entertainment, mostly for the kid..... And for the Dad, the amusement and pleasant recognition that the kid believed this was real just like something he believed was real when he was a boy out with his father. I've known that wrestling has been turned over to the culture pimps for sometime now. The last live match I went to was nearly 20 years ago and it was terrible. It was also not long after the introduction of female managers and sidekicks to the ring. The manager in question, I don't remember who she was, stepped into the ring to argue with the Ref. After the requisite finger pointing and yelling, the opponent picked up this woman and (theatrically) slammed her to the canvas. I was stunned. The two wrestlers resumed fighting out of the ring and the woman lay there still until two guys with an old style hand carry stretcher took her away. A little boy of about 8 or 10 years old 2 seats away from us asked his dad "is she going to be OK?" His father replied "she's not really hurt". The boy seemed to understand it just all was part of the show. A show I no longer wanted a part of.

The picture you see above is of Bobo Brazil, champion professional wrestler. 30 plus years ago I rooted for this man to retain his belt as world champion at Dayton Ohio's Hara Arena. He wrestled the most dangerous and unsavory characters, such as the Wild Man from Borneo and a whole host of villains and ne'er do wells. Bobo was the good guy and he nearly always won. Nobody ever hit or pushed a woman or for that matter even brought a woman near the violence in the ring. This was a place for fake brutality and man to man conflict. There was no disrespect or violence against women, ever. There is a place for "guy only" stuff in this world, but it's only stuff women wouldn't want to participate in anyway. I'm not talking about women who are wrestling fans, don't get me wrong. But this is one of the places where we are taught to kill spiders, even though some of us are as afraid of spiders as you are. This is the place where learn to stand between you and stranger on a city street to protect you from whatever might come. This is one of the places where we learn to behave like men, from our fathers. I'm not suggesting we learn how to behave like men from watching wrestling. I'm saying we learn it from watching the good guy win at a place where our fathers took us. You want to see a man who knows this? Visit Rob's blog. When you wake up at 3 a.m. and hear a noise downstairs, and your husband gets up and finds out where it came from, thank his father and the moments where he learned to be brave and protective. He would gladly stand between you and any danger, because he loves you. He is fighting his fear as much as you are. Understand this, and you understand and further appreciate your man. I know this sounds strange, but also thank Bobo Brazil, the Sheik, Johnny Valentine and the Wild Man from Borneo for all the things your husband does for you. If you want to see what wrestling has become, just watch 10 minutes of a WWE program.

Old people moment

2005-10-03T23:17:00.000-05:00

My wife and I have an inside joke, whenever we do or say something that we attribute to old people, we call it an old people moment. I had a gem of an old people moment tonight. I'm laying on the couch, enjoying an episode of M.A.S.H. and I think to myself, this was one of the new episodes, with Harry Morgan and Mike Farrell. At the end of the show I notice my "new" episode was released in 1976. It made me laugh almost as hard as the show itself.

The truth sometimes hurts

2005-10-02T17:26:00.000-05:00

The current controversy surrounding the recent remarks made by Bill Bennett on his radio program is the best example of why the blogospere is needed more than ever. The bloggers have made their reputation on waiting for the dust to settle, and then, making their judgments and comments. That is what separates us from the vapid, the regurgitators and the opportunistic.

Bill's remarks were not for the stupid, but the stupid reacted, in droves. The politicians and the pundits who immediately attacked Bill, in my opinion, are either stupid or deliberately lying. If you cannot understand the point the man was making, you are stupid. If you understand and are deliberately making political hay, then you are committing the worst kind of fraud. That kind of political hack is unable to win the point with an argument, so, he tries to bring down his opponent with misrepresentation, knowing the whole time he is being dishonest. The left prides itself on it's intellectual prowess but yet their abilities have utterly failed them regarding this particular event. So it's my verdict is that most of these attackers are frauds. Political opportunists who would like nothing better than to see William Bennett removed from the air. They can't stand him because he does what they can't do, participate in a civil discussion, airing comments from all points of view and at the same time making his own point in a calm and entertaining manner.

Useful idiots

2005-09-26T16:20:00.000-05:00

Cindy and Jesse sittin' in tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage. What would that love child look like? Anybody doubt that all these lovely leftys conspire to help one another? I know what your thinking, here we go.... black helicopters....the Free Masons...the International Monetary Fund! That's not where I'm going with this. The left has a very sophisticated network that allows them to assemble large numbers of protesters in a very efficient way. Say you want to go to the big protest in Washington. You can find a place to stay for free with one of your fellow travelers by looking at the protesters website and making the connection. It's just that simple! So if you wonder how they do it, providing a place to crash is one way they make it easier for someone who would otherwise be just bothering the locals to attend these protests. For those of you who are still picturing the Cindy/Jesse love child..... here's a picture of a cute squirrel.

I love this picture. It's a Ukrainian squirrel for which the people built a bridge over a busy roadway at a cost of about 100 thousand euros. They did this not knowing whether this little guy and his pals would use it or not. The best of humanity embodied in this little animal.

Cathy and I ran into a protester on our trip to Washington in March 2003, he asked us if we "were going to the rally", we said "yeah!" As we approached the Mall, it became apparent the protester's direction and ours were not the same, we walked toward the pro troops rally, he toward the anti war rally and immediately his attitude changed and he moved away from us as quickly as he could. I know our intentions were good. We wanted to wish him well but as soon as he found out we were not his side he could give a rat's ass about us... so much for the humanity of the left. I would like to call that person a partisan hack, but that would be giving him too much credit.

The bolshies continued to haunt us, a fake journalist tried to get an interview with one of our pro-troops people, who was smart, reserved, and did not give him any red meat.

The interviewer was an A.N.S.W.E.R. infiltrator, the man barely visible on the left in the above picture, a group we had been warned about. When the pinkos weren't able to infiltrate, they tried to disrupt, ooooooh, at a very bad time, Rolling Thunder arrived at the time they tried to yell their anti war slogans and discourage our support for the troops. They did this from the sideline and they had no success. Imagine trying to be heard over more than a 1000 booming Harleys echoing between the big stone buildings that line the Capitol building end of the Mall.

This man came by motorcycle by himself to the rally. He was a big man, well over 6 feet tall and Cathy, my wife, liked the way he looked so she snapped this picture. The rally was organized by the G. Gordon Liddy show and attracted about 10,000 people. Many of whom likely came from the immediate area, but some did what Cathy and I did. We left Kentucky on Friday evening in the mini van and arrived in Washington early Saturday morning, the rally began at noon. We walked around and took in the atmosphere of our nation's capitol. Cathy took pictures and we both marveled at the grandeur of the buildings, monuments and statues. We then went to the rally, this part of our journey is where we ran into the above mentioned protester. The rally was inspiring, with country music and famous conservative speakers including the G-man himself. After the rally was over we walked to the Lincoln Memorial and to the Washington monument and by the reflecting pool (which was mostly drained for renovation). We then decided it was time to make our way home and headed back to the van. Getting out of Washington was as bad as everybody says it is, but once we were out of town and on the highway, the main battle was with sleepiness. No-doz and ephedrine were my friends. We both had jobs and a home with pets to return to. That is the difference between the commies from Seattle, Berkeley, San Francisco, Boston, New York and the like, and the conservative movement. We have responsibilities and more importantly, we honor them.

Crashing stinks

2005-09-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

Going on a nice, half days ride is a purely pleasant thing. Longer rides are more epic, involving planning for weather, big changes in temperature and the other worries associated with long term outdoor activities. Shorter rides are mostly concerned with an all purpose garment or layering of clothes to stay comfortable depending upon which half of the day you are riding. A good riding jacket with armor, removable insulation and vents for air flow is usually the best option. The one thing I never think about is crashing. Don't get me wrong, I prepare for it by wearing boots, jeans, motorcycle jacket or my Draggin shirt and always a helmet and gloves. Road rash and hard pavement do not care how good of a rider you think you are. Thanks to Rob for the above picture which shows the exact moment you are glad for body armor and a full face helmet. Something my friend Dave learned this past Monday after an unexpected (they're all unexpected) spill in a low speed uphill corner. It was a lowside crash and he was relatively unhurt, except for the usual soreness that accompanies bouncing around on the pavement.
The bike, however, did not fare so well. The side casing was torn open and oil spilled from the gap. The rest of the damage was cosmetic and all can be repaired. Without a doubt, the ugliest sound in the world is a motorcycle sliding along the roadway. Neither of these pictures are of the actual crash, but that doesn't really matter. The results and the emotions are the same. It all started out as a pleasant day of riding, it ended up by the side of the road waiting for a pickup truck to take the fallen bike back to it's home to be nursed back to health by my friend, and the bike's owner, Chris. It could have been any one of us, we were all riding hard and fast. I'm just glad Dave wasn't hurt and was wearing the right gear. I used to have the attitude that if you want to ride without a helmet, fine, that's up to you. That is no longer my attitude, put on a damn helmet, somebody loves you and wants to see you again. If Indian Larry had been wearing a proper helmet he would probably be with us today. A helmet doesn't guarantee anything, but not wearing one, and landing on your head, does. You don't believe me? take a long hard look at Gary Busey.

#*&!!$% Garden!

2005-09-18T10:54:00.000-05:00

I've called my garden several names, garden of despair, deer salad and names not for delicate ears. I now regret having said those things. My garden is making a late season surge and is producing the most interesting crop of tomatoes and peppers ever ripened in the brief history of that little plot of land. At the beginning of the year, the deer happily consumed most of the first crop of delicate little tomato flowers and top growth of about 3 quarters of my tomato plants. They left the pepper plants alone. It took a long time for the plants to recover and begin yielding fruit. I didn't realize my lack of patience and appreciation for my recuperating garden until I referred to a newly ripened burger hybrid as one of my "precious" tomatoes, the first nice thing I'd said about something my garden produced all year.... All of you Lord of the Rings fans, stop snickering.... It was then I realized that I was spoiled by the success of last years garden (a little over 100 lbs. of tomatoes).

The above tomatoes were purchased from the local farmers market, this 10 pound batch from Kinman Farms for 4 dollars. At the height of production of last year's garden, I was getting this much about every 2 days. I was spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. I made batches and batches of salsa and Cathy and I ate the sweetest yellow cherry tomatoes in the world with our lunches every day.

My first full sized tomato ripened early this month. All of the other tomatoes have been cherry tomatoes and medium sized yellow tomatoes that were volunteers growing out of the compost pile! The scarcity of tomatoes from my garden early in the season had an unexpected effect on the way I enjoyed them. It wasn't that I was particularly thankful for my small bounty, I was way to ungrateful for that. I tasted them like I would taste a first glass of wine, looking for subtleties and underlying flavors. I doubt that I've ever tasted a tomato more thoroughly than these early tomatoes that were few and yes, precious. Not precious because I couldn't get garden tomatoes, I could get them by the ton. It's because I wanted tomatoes from my garden. from the garden I tilled and amended... with... you know, the stuff you amend gardens with. Some were sweeter than others, some a meatier tomato flavor, and some with an herb taste in the background, but all particular and appreciated. If my garden had yielded 4 or 5 pounds of tomatoes a day would I have noticed that? Obviously this blog entry isn't just about tomatoes, but trying to grow tomatoes has taught me something important every year. You can learn something every day, you just have to pay attention. I've learned not to be so impatient and to be grateful for all that I have and all that comes my way....... Despite my whining about my garden, the below picture is this morning's yield.

My day, 9-11-01

2005-09-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

I was half awake when the images of the first hit and burning world trade center tower were being broadcast on Fox News. I blinked at the screen not understanding what I was seeing, I'm not very coherent when I first wake up anyway. As it started to sink in, I thought, could it have been a Cessna or some other small plane, someone committing suicide trying to go out with a bang. But the flames and the hole were too big. Then.............

Then I knew, we all knew, this was an attack. I got up and got ready for work. I drove to work in a daze, listening to the radio, feeling gut punched and useless. The rumors were coming fast and furious, there were more planes hijacked and about to crash into god knows what. The White House was a target, there were possibly several more hijacked planes still in the air. All these were unconfirmed reports, but after each report, my heart sank deeper. When I arrived at work at 9:30, everyone was glued to the monitors. I work in a traffic control center, we have more monitors than Carter has little pills. All of the talking heads were speculating; who did this, what will happen next? Over the next hour, the Pentagon was hit, flight 93 crashed in Shanksville Pa. and both towers collapsed. The unsolicited tribute below is from a man from Guatemala.

Let's roll,

In memory of...

Those gallant passengers and flight crew members of United Airlines Flight 93 that on Sept. 11th, 2001 defeated the coward terrorist hijackers and their intended purpose. We honor you. We admire you. We salute you.

We shall never forget...

Blessed are the peacemakers...

Let freedom ring...

My brothers pay tribute with the above plaque:

On September 11, 2001, the passengers and crew of United Flight 93 gave their lives. They made this choice so that an unknown number of people could live, people that they never met. The people aboard Flight 93 gave the ultimate sacrifice. Motorcyclists from all over the free world leave this memorial as a tribute to you. Thank you for your sacrifice. May god bless you and your families.

America's 9/11 Ride Foundation, Inc.

I wish I could have participated in that ride. But it would have been too difficult emotionally and I didn't actually have a motorcycle, or a helmet, or a motorcycle license at the time.

The men and women at the Pentagon were equally courageous. They did what we know all of our military does automatically, no one left behind.

At this point, all of the bosses made an offer to the supervisors and traffic managers. If you want to go home and be with your family, go, there would be no penalty. An appreciated gesture. I don't know of it happened all at once or if we all came to the same concern at slightly different times, but everyone was concerned for Ahmad and his family. Ahmad was and is a traffic information manager, from Lebanon, and a Muslim. He left immediately to be with and protect his family. If there were any problems, we warned, call, we would use our direct contacts with Cincinnati Police to send protection at a moments notice. We were reasonably certain that Cincinnati would not be a target, so our main concern was for Ahmad and his family. He told me today (9-12-05) that he does not like to think about 9-11 because it depresses him. Men misrepresenting his faith killed thousands of innocent people and it bothers him deeply. So, when mental midgets like Kanye West regurgitate the left's mantra that George Bush is a racist, then by association all who voted for him are racists....... Let's not kid ourselves that's what Kanye and that sect of activists think of us...... I think of that day when a room full of white people, who's country was just attacked by Muslim fundamentalists, were as concerned for their Muslim co-worker as getting home to their own families.

Blogging on the dark side

2005-08-30T12:54:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend a new blog by a very dear friend of mine. I've included a picture of him---> Beware the dark side, it's not just good advice, it's also a blog. His writing is thoughtful and he can do what all writers would like to be able to do, his writing "voice" is his voice. When I read his blog I hear his voice. That's a bit unfair, because I know him. Those who do not know him will get a sense of who he is by what and how he writes. And when you visit his blog, urge him to use moisturizer, he's gettin' a bit green and wrinkly.

P.S. Spell check wanted me to replace blogging with flogging. I love a spell check with a sense of humor.

Peace out!

2005-08-30T12:28:00.000-05:00

Suge Knight was shot this past week, anybody surprised? Of course not. For me personally, it was a great source of entertainment. Here are some fun facts about the shooting and Marion "Suge" Knight. He was convicted in 1992 of assault and weapons violations and was placed on probation. In 1996 he was jailed for 5 years for violating probation after he and several associates, including Tupac Shakur, were recorded on videotape beating a gang rival at a Las Vegas Hotel. Hours after that fight, Shakur was fatally wounded as he was riding in a car with Knight. What a fun guy to party with! Now, on to the shooting at the MTV awards party. The shooter was described as a black male wearing a pink shirt, or maybe it was a pink male wearing a black shirt. It could be anything, nobody is talking. That was the only description police could get out of anyone! Black male, pink shirt, that's all. Here is a telling quote from Miami Beach police spokesman, Bobby Hernandez; "We don't have any physical description. We don't know how many subjects were involved, which is mind boggling with all those people around" Six shots were fired in the incident, only one striking Suge in the thigh. How's that for marksmanship! Shooting Suge in the thigh must have been like shooting a Hippo with a BB gun. Suge, get well soon, peace out!

2005-08-30T11:33:00.000-05:00

Pat!.......... you are not helping