Swine Flu

Just flew over to Detroit for a meeting, and back the next day. I saw a lot of face masks on (mostly) Oriental folks in the Detroit airport. I didn't hear one cough or sneeze on either flight - both flights were full.

And I just saw an interview with a doctor saying the masks aren't any good...the virus is smaller than the weave of the masks, so passes right through. Go figure.

I just have to say -- I don't give a tinker's damn about Muslims or Mexicans or Mormons...it's the SWINE FLU, dammit. Not H1M1 or whatever they're saying on the news. For crying out loud, does political correctness have to get in the way of ACCURACY?

I'm going to make a bumper sticker that says "It's the Swine Flu: Get Over It!"

And I got this picture today...love it.



One of my friends(!) said "putting out your baby pictures isn't going to help" .
Hey, I resemble that remark.

Beer me, Doctor

On my list for my birthday present.



The title is an inside joke to Flipper.

H/T Magpul

Of Rain and Sump Pumps

I'm gonna take a break from bitching about what a dumbass Obama is. So here's the local story of the day. Had about 6 inches of rain over the past 24 hours (through 3pm CDT Sunday). And we got a little clog in the piping. Specifically (for my old pals in Texas who don't have basements), there's a sump pump in the basement that pumps the water (that collects under the house) outside and away from the house. Now the away part is important...if you're just dumping the water outside the basement alongside the foundation, you're just feeding it back under the house. So we have a nice drain that runs underground to the storm sewer out front, there being about a 6-foot drop from the front of the house to the street.

'Cept we went outside after the rain, and the drain pipe is clogged. So the water that's being pumped out through the white PVC is backing up out of the green pipe there, and going back under the house (and making about a foot-deep pool of water against the foundation). Not so good.

So, we spent the better part of 5 hours out there clearing a spot for the collected water to drain, then sawing off the old PVC, and putting a temp flex hose to the street. The plumber will be here tomorrow; can't interrupt them on a Sunday, ya know. Grrrr.

Anyway, here are the pics. Sucks to be knee-deep in muck and mud, but at least it was clean water and not the sewer pipe. Notice no leaves yet on the tree there. They're budding out, but no leaves anywhere up here yet.




I'll bitch about Obama tomorrow.

Pirate bullseye

From Lex.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

2 trillion bottles of beer on the wall...

Pelosi and Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

So here's Pelosi today:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing back on GOP charges that she knew about waterboarding for years and did nothing.

Pelosi says she was briefed by Bush administration officials on the legal justification for using waterboarding — but that they never followed through on promises to inform her when they actually began using "enhanced" interrogation techniques.

"In that or any other briefing…we were not, and I repeat, we're not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation techniques were used. What they did tell us is that they had some legislative counsel ... opinions that they could be used," she told reporters today.

That's from Politico.

Others say she knew all along. Here's the Washington Post:

In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

Can't we just waterboard this bitch and find out what she knew and when she knew it? Jeez.

H/T The Corner

Support Gay Marriage?

Might not be a bad idea...



H/T Sticker Giant

Texas, Our Texas -- Which One?

First off, I think Gov Perry is an imbecile. The only reason he said the stupid stuff he said about secession is because he's worried about Kay Hutchinson running against him for Governor.

Texas can't secede...not without a fight. But it can divide into 5 states. Here's what we can do:

New States of convenient size not exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas and having sufficient population, may, hereafter by the consent of said State, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the Federal Constitution

And here's a good commentary on it...

http://simon-jester.org/2009/04/the-texas-question/

All good Texas History teachers in Texas teach their students that Texas could end up with 10 Senators.

I kinda doubt it will happen, but Obama could push us far enough...we have our own sub.

H/T Simon Jester and TexasCrazy for the Map.

Rangers and Seals get along...who knew?

RangerUp has a great t-shirt honoring the Seals who freed the Maersk Alabama Captain.



Head on over to RangerUp and get a shirt.

H/T Blackfive

A Couple of Days Off

THE BOSS and I took a few days off to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We stayed at the Inn at Bay Harbor in Petoskey, MI. Great resort. Here's a couple of pics from the room.

If you ever get a chance to take a golf vacation, I highly recommend the west coast of Michigan. Between Grand Traverse and Petoskey, you have some tough and beautiful courses.

Calling Jack Bauer

Maybe Jack will shoot this bitch.
I'll give him the whole hour to decide, not that he'll need it.



So now I'm a racist, a redneck, and...whatever.

H/T Brutally Honest

Looking for free oil

Does anyone else find this offensive?

Or is everyone else taking happy pills?
FFS, we'd whack this moron if we got the chance. (Chavez, I mean.)

Picture from the NYTimes, where they serve the happy pills.

Ft Custer National Cemetery

Was driving back home from Detroit today, and we stopped at Ft Custer. THE BOSS' father is buried there. WWII veteran. I didn't have my camera with me, but it was beautiful...70 degrees, no wind, and not a cloud in the sky. The entrance drive is lined with hundreds of American flags...very classy, very somber, very respectful.

TSG Radke is in the area behind these headstones.

Quite a few tears today, along with prayers of thanks for such men.

H/T www.waymarking.com for the pictures.

A Little Competition's a Good Thing, Right?

Not if you ask Obama's administration. Here's what moonbat Rosa Brooks, formerly of the LA Times, and now working for you in the Pentagon, said about her idea of providing a bailout for newspapers:

Brooks said this would help rescue the industry from a "death spiral" and left the government unaccountable to the journalists who must keep it honest. "[I] can't imagine anything more dangerous than a society in which the news industry has more or less collapsed," she wrote.

OK, a little Economics 101 for this dipshit. The fact that newspapers are going out of business does not mean that society is not getting news. Nor does it mean that we won't uncover government corruption. We're just not getting these efforts from "journalists" in the print business.

I had this discussion this past weekend. As more and more people get their news online (and I mean news, not opinion), less and less newsprint and ink will be needed. If you follow baseball and wonder at 10pm whether the Rangers won, what do you do? You can turn on the radio and hope for a score in 15 minutes or so. You can turn on ESPN. You can look up the score on the website of Major League Baseball (the fastest way to get this info). In years gone by, you would have had to wait until the morning's paper to find out the score. Now, since you can get the info immediately, there's no need to read the sports page. If you read FoxNews.com or CNN.com or others, you get information faster. You might not get analysis, but you'll get raw news. (You do get analysis...I was kidding about that part.) Today, as younger workers use only cell phones (no landlines) and are always on the web, they don't need the paper --- they get all this info online. My son doesn't read the printed Dallas News, but he'll skim it online.

So Ms. Brooks is boo-hooing the loss of jobs at the Times. Yawn. I would prefer to have the raw news, faster, and do my own analysis, thank you. I think this is what the traditional media types don't get. They are so used to serving up the news in a daily format that they just don't understand how an always-on medium can wipe them out. And their blinders prevent them from seeing it sneak up on them until it's too late -- someone else has staked out an online presence that rivals the newspapers' delivery. And they've taken the paper's advertisers with them onto the web.

Just think about this blog entry. I'm a sales guy, but you're reading an analysis from me about why the print media are going downhill. This doesn't mean I'm right or that I'm better than the LA Times. I'm just giving my opinion, with a few facts thrown in there. You must think. I know - scary.

This idea that if we don't have a newspaper and Woodward and Bernstein around, then government will run amok, is a bunch of crap (I always wanted to write "run amok"!). We've replaced time-consuming investigative journalism with real-time, always-on fact reporting. Time will tell if it will be as effective. I think it will be. Why?

Well, think about Paul Potts and Susan Boyle. Go ahead -- Google them -- I'll wait. Notice that I didn't provide links. I thought maybe you knew how to search.

Now that you're back, you can see how someone can become an immediate sensation. Not overnight, but within a few hours! News used to be a business where reporters went into harm's way to report and build a name for themselves. Wow, they were willing to risk their lives to bring you the story -- it must be true then! (I separate these slime from today's embedded bloggers. Today's embeds are mostly former military going back to give you the inside scoop, and I love their type of reporting. They've been there and know how to keep their heads down, thereby not putting a bodyguard in as much danger.) Then they'd move back to NY and work their way up to the anchor chair. (Sound familiar? It's Dan Rather-tell-a-lie's story.)

Today, we have so many people who want to make a name for themselves, and monetize this fame, that we have MORE people investigating government than we've ever had. I submit this makes for more honest government. More eyeballs on these scum in Washington means they can't get away with as much in the way of shenanigans. They'll figure out how to make a living reporting like that. I have faith in capitalism!

Now, before you say, "but what about all those jobs lost as the papers fold"? Hell, go get a different job. Learn a new skill. I have a relative who is a sales guy, and was laid off 3 weeks ago. He's also a licensed engineer. Now he has two industries that he can look for work in. He's in better shape than I am (in more ways than one). He's not working because he chooses to be unemployed. There are jobs out there, but just not ones that he wants to take -- yet.

My point is...creative destruction is as work, and we're lamenting it...but you just watch all of the wealth that's created in the next 5 years as folks move to new jobs in new industries (some new for them, some new to the economy). We should welcome it. In the big picture it's what keeps our economy vibrant. Yes, some folks suffer through unemployment for a while. But overall the economy gets stronger, and we have support systems in place to make sure folks don't starve. They might lose their homes, but that's a risk they took when they bet the economy would always rise and they didn't save money for that rainy day. Kinda like playing the lottery...lots of losers, only one winner each time.

As for "reporters" such as Ms. What's-her-name: Good Riddance. Wait...except now my tax dollars are paying her to write her lamentia (a peculiar form of journalistic dementia). She has no pressure to compete and get a new skill. So she's going to use the one she's not very good at over at the Pentagon to write about Obama and his brilliance.

Crap...screwed up in reverse.

H/T Foxnews.com story

New Bumper Sticker

Who wants one?

TEA PARTIES don't mean much to ACORN

Here's Florida's top ACORN nut:

"This is the first we've heard of these so-called 'tea parties.' And, frankly, a bunch of small get-togethers by fringe conservative activists dedicated to simply saying 'no' is of little interest to us," said ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring.

And this:

"The idea that ACORN is out to disrupt these meet-ups of fringe activists is yet another conservative fantasy," Kettenring said.

"At this point, it would not surprise us to wake up tomorrow and see conservative media fingering ACORN's 500,000 member families as the principle cause of global climate change," he said in a written statement.

Cover your ears, because I'm going to start cussing. Sorry, but I can't help myself.

Here's a picture of this fuck-stick.



I am a fringe conservative activist. I'm glad I am of no interest to this dickwad, because I am going to get activist on his ass -- making sure that none of my tax money goes to ACORN. Then this idiot will be out of work. And no -- he should not get unemployment benefits. I am not physically threatening this idiot...he's not worth going to jail over. But I do intend to get him fired or laid off. Then he can rely on global warming to heat his tea in the morning.

I cannot BELIEVE that my tax dollars pay this sumbitch's salary.

And wouldn't you know it...he's gone around the web and removed pictures of himself. Whatsamatta? Embarrassed by your own picture? Chickenshit S.O.B.

H/T Fox News story

Say Whatever You Like

While we take time out to protest high taxes, out-of-control government spending, tin-eared pols, and creeping communism, let's not forget to say a prayer for those who wrote a check to Uncle Sam for an amount up to and including one's life...that may be cashed at any time. They died to guarantee us the right to protest -- and the right to vote the bums out. This is a memorial to fallen PJ's.



Now let's see what freedoms were bought with those lives .



Let's take this country back -- for her sake.

H/T Moonbattery and pjcountry

and that quote on the check to Uncle Sam -- H/T to COB6 over at Blackfive

Tax Day Tea Parties

I was to attend the Tea Party in Madison, WI today...but events took hold. I'm in Detroit, where I could not find a Tea Party (I later found out there was one in Troy; sorry I couldn't find it until after it was over).

More comments later. But this is the best logo/t-shirt/sign that I've seen today.

H/T Zazzle.com

The Bow to Nowhere

Don't recall where I saw it (I got a wonderful MS reboot). But I read somewhere that Obama's recent bow to the Saudi king was described as a "posture malfunction". Hehe.

H/T Don't know...will post when I figure it out.

UPDATE: Thanks to a reader for the tip that I saw this on www.julescrittendon.com. Yep, I subscribe to his blog, so that's it. Many thanks!

Bambi and the Turkey

Lunch and dinner in the same picture. Nice with a red-wine sauce...



Taken at my Brother-in-Law's house this weekend.

Air Force Chiefs: "Stop Making Those Stealth Jets..."

"...because we can't find them". Ok, I made that last part up.


I have read and heard from many sources that Defense Secretary Bob Gates is going to kill the F-22 Raptor. I don't agree with this decision, but who the hell cares what I think? But over at Danger Room, Noah Shachtman has a great picture. He also has good analysis.

I still like my line better.

H/T Danger Room

Kowtow Bow

From Jennifer Rubin in Commentary:

It really is maddening enough that the president asks us to deny the laws of economics, the tenets of sound national security, and to accept the untruths perpetually tumbling from his lips (e.g. he doesn’t like big government, he is not naive). Now he says everyone else’s eyes deceive them.

She gets it just right.

Hey, we all make mistakes. But we also pay this moron and his staff a bunch of money to stand for us. If Obama can't own up to a mistake, and instead sends his press secretary and others out to lie for him (meaning he doesn't have the stones to face us and apologize) , what else will he lie about? What won't he lie about?

If he's going to bow, he should do it at Arlington National Cemetery. Now that would be a bow I'd support.

I wonder if he said "massah".

Obama Insults All Veterans

He didn't want to visit US SACRED SOIL in France. Normal curses fail to express my disgust.



H/T Occidental Soapbox

Is Delta in Deep Doo Doo?

Man Hit With Felony Charge After In-Flight Bathroom Emergency

I saw this story today on Fox, from the AP. Here's the poop:

Joao Correa, 43, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he had a bathroom emergency 30 minutes into a March 28 Delta Air Lines flight from Honduras to Atlanta, but found the single coach aisle on the Boeing 737 blocked by a beverage cart. He said he asked if he could use the lavatory in business class, but was told no.

This guy was arrested when they arrived in Atlanta because he pushed his way past a flight attendant to get to the bathroom.

Now, this strikes me as odd. As I've said, I've flown a few miles on Delta, in coach, business class, Domestic First Class, and their old International First Class. I have been in the same boat as this guy -- when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. But this idea that he asked the flight attendant to go to Business Class and was turned down -- there's more here than meets the eye. First of all, don't ask -- go to a bathroom.

I suspect if he was agitated (needed to go badly) and he approached a flight attendant, he probably alarmed the flight attendant. Honestly, if you are in this kind of trouble, all you have to do is say so to a flight attendant and you'll get the ok. Last weekend, I got up during a flight to Vegas while the seat belt sign was on, and walked back to the lav. Both flight attendants were in the back, and they both reminded me that the light was on. My response was, "I really have to go" in a pleading voice, not a threatening one. They said, "Just be careful" (I think they were talking about being careful because of the turbulence, not my aim, but who knows). I was on a London to Chicago flight once and was given a few Imodium tabs by a flight attendant, which is a clear violation of their rules (they call it the Tylenol rule, for obvious reasons).

My point is that flight attendants are people, too, and they understand, are professional and understanding, and have seen it all, including that blue water washing down the aisle during take-off (happened to me).

So I suspect that this guy either acted really strangely, or was very agitated, and was unable to explain it for some reason. The fact that he even had to touch the flight attendant means 2 things: a) he REALLY needed to go, and b) he was going to jail.

Let's see...soil your jeans or go to jail? We're not getting the whole story yet.

H/T City of Tempe website for toilet drawing. Story from FOX, sourced from AP.

PS. Forgive me a bit of liberty with the picture. I'm not dumping on Delta. I really like Delta (2.7 million miles) and I don't want them pissed at me. It was just too good to pass.

2 Trillion Bucks -- the song

With apologies to Tennessee Ernie Ford, this is great.

http://www.moonbattery.com/2-Trillion-Bucks.mp3

Colorado Governor Moonbeam

And you thought "Gov Moonbeam" only refers to Jerry Brown? HAH!

This freaking moron is exactly the type of politician that we want to throw out. He's a bum, he can't do math, he wants to give illegal aliens in-state tuition... It almost makes me want to move back there just to vote against the bastard. Oh, never mind, my pal Chuck will definitely vote against this dork. Go get 'em, Chuck!



I swear, how does a guy that is this clueless get elected? And this idiot was Denver's DA for 10+ years! How many illegals did he let off the hook? I think his election says as much about the electorate as it does about him.

H/T Moonbattery

Great Man, Great President

Great supporter of baseball. God Bless George W. Bush.



I'm glad he decided to move back to Dallas -- my hometown.

H/T Powerline

Speaking of Country Music...

...and Johnny Gimble, this is more like it.

The Fall of Detroit

Here's a pretty telling graphic:

Since I'm from Dallas, and THE BOSS is from Detroit, she's a bit depressed about this. I am not surprised. During our last big recession in the mid-80's, the joke going around was that there were more Michigan license plates than Mexicans in Texas. Not so true any more.

On the bright side, if you have cash or good credit with the ability to borrow, now is a great buying opportunity for real estate. THE BOSS has been looking at homes over in Grosse Pointe (Detroit's Highland Park) and you can get some great deals there. We're going to head over in a few weeks to take a look.

H/T Moonbattery for the graphic

Obama as Lincoln? Not.

Sad, but true.

Here's hoping he will not need to give his own version of The Gettysburg Address.

H/T Brutally Honest

Where is the next George Strait?

I'm watching the Country Music Awards, and I just said to THE BOSS, "Hey, this ain't country music". It's pop, a little jazz, rock and roll, all jumbled together.

I know I'm an old fart, but I was very happy when George Strait entered the scene. I was in college, before George was a star, and we'd go listen to his band at The Skellar in San Marcos. Now he's the heir apparent to George Jones and Merle Haggard, not to mention Bob Wills. God bless him as he keeps traditional country music alive.

Where's the next generation of traditional country? I don't listen to this new crap. And what the hell kind of name is Kelly Pickler or Taylor Swift? Keith Urban? Puh-LEEZ!

Gimme some Asleep at the Wheel any day.


If you can't pick out Johnny Gimble, you ain't country. (Hint: 1:19)

All Hail the Obama -- oh, wait

I know more than a few wackos who voted for this moron. They are otherwise sane...

H/T Powerline

The Goracle Alert

I'm in Las Vegas at CTIA. This morning's Keynote Address is from none other than the Academy Award-winning slob, Al Gore. And before you ask, hell, no, I won't go.

Note that it's been in the 60's and 70's this week...beautiful golf weather (as you can see outside my hotel window, with Nellis AFB in the distance).



We've seen a few F-15's while we've been here, but no Raptors yet. I keep seeing Janet Air 737's coming in and out of LAS...that's the shuttle over to Area 51.



I'm here with #1 son for the trade show (trust me, dear, I wouldn't take him down to the casino). Oh, no.

But with Big Al in town, what do you think will happen to the weather?

You got it...windy, with gusts over 50 mph (while Al's speaking, obviously).

The Goracle Strikes.

H/T Airliners.net for the 737 pic, and Weather.com for the weather info.