'Tis Done

Yep, I voted.  Early returns have come in....and Mitt has won.

I'm not displeased.

And thankfully the robocalls have ceased.

Horrible!

Yes.

Horrible!

Ten people were killed early Sunday morning in a string of crashes involving about 20 vehicles on Interstate 75 near Gainesville after smoke from a brush fire on Paynes Prairie reduced visibility to nearly zero.

Witnesses described hitting a wall of smoke so thick they could not see the car in front of them, and then hearing collisions and the screams of the trapped and dying.

Mangled sedans, semitrailers and sport utility vehicles littered the highway in both directions, a half-mile going north, a half-mile going south of the first crashes.

In addition to the fatalities, 21 people were treated for their injuries at two area hospitals— 18 at Shands at the University of Florida, with six in the trauma center and 12 in the emergency room, and three at North Florida Regional Medical Center

Come on January 31st

I can't wait to vote on the Repub Florida primary.  First time that we Floridians will have a early chance to choose the eventual nominee.

Even so, started with nine, down to four.  But even so, we have a surplus of good candidates...at least compared to the Dems. They're stuck with the Gracious High Lord Obama.

Can't wait to see how this plays out.

Wow

Wow, it's been a whole year since my last post. Gotta do something about that.

Now This Is Very True

Ross Calloway at The Lunch Counter makes this astute observation:  "Election is over. You're all on probation. The people have spoken. Republicans regained majority control of the House. Question for President Obama is two-fold. Have you heard the voice of the American People? Will you listen to them?"

OMG-That's It! Michelle Malkin - Sing It, Sister!

How's this for ballsy, folks?

"Take Your Olive Branch and Shove It, Democrats!"

So plainly speaketh Michelle Malkin in her article.

Obama’s pal Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, whom the president hailed as an “outstanding” member of Congress, accused Republicans of wanting elderly people to “die quickly” and of presiding over a “holocaust in America.” Vice President Joe Biden hailed Grayson as a “guy who doesn’t back away from a fight, and doesn’t back down from what he believes in” and told him at a fundraiser: “We owe you one, buddy.” No mention of Grayson’s smear of a female Federal Reserve adviser as a “K Street whore.”

In California, entrenched-incumbent jerk Pete Stark derided immigration-enforcement activists at a town hall by asking: “Who are you going to kill today?” To an elderly constituent who opposed the health-care bill, Stark retorted: “I wouldn’t dignify you by peeing on your leg. It wouldn’t be worth wasting the urine.”

As voters who have been maligned by the ruling majority as stupid, unwashed, racist, selfish, and violent headed to the polls Tuesday, Democrats released “talking points” attacking Republican leaders who “are not willing to compromise.” But “no compromise” is exactly the message that un-American Americans delivered to Washington this campaign season:

No more compromising deals behind closed doors. No more compromising bailouts in times of manufactured crisis. No more compromising conservative principles for D.C. party elites. No more compromising the American economy for left-wing special interests. No more compromising transparency and ethics for bureaucratic self-preservation.

Let us be clear, in case it hasn’t fully sunk into the minds of Obama and the trash-talking Democrats yet: You can take your faux olive branch and shove it. Thank you.

I've said it before, conservative women have bigger balls than any 4 Democrat males.

OMG-That's It! Why I Vote Republican

I've explained my voting methodology which has arisen since the Dems tried to steal Florida in 2000, partly by trying to disallow military votes.  (Yeah, some things never change.)

I was reading this article (Why I Now Vote Party, Not Individual) by Dennis Prager and he makes several good points (as usual), a couple of which made me say "OMG-That's  It!"

There is an American tradition of voting not for the party, but “for the man.” Unlike Europeans, who are more ideologically driven, Americans have prided themselves in assessing individuals of both parties, and then voting for the more personally impressive candidate. The European parliamentary system of government fosters ideological voting; the American political system does so to a much lesser degree. With only two parties competing in American elections, each party has had to encompass a much wider spectrum of ideologies.

This is no longer the case. For better or for worse, the notion of voting for the candidate rather than the party is now mostly naïve idealism. The Democratic party is now fully left-wing, and is simply the American version of a European social-democratic party. It is the party of ever-expanding government. (The Republican party, in contrast, is — at long last — the party of small government.) There are two reasons for one to vote Democratic: either one is a leftist, or one has come to believe the Left’s demonization of its opponents as SIXHIRB (Sexist, Intolerant, Xenophobic, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Racist, Bigoted).

Oh, yes, there is third reason that Americans vote Democratic: More and more Americans are employed by the government, and more and more Americans receive significant material benefits from it. So one does not have to have left-wing values or believe in the demonization of conservatives to vote Democratic. All one has to do is vote according to where one’s livelihood comes from.

OMG-That's It! The Obama "Concession"

Just watched excerpts of Obama's speech today in which he concedes some responsibility for some Democrat losses. He "takes responsibility" but I don't think he means it. He seems to think if he says something that America will believe it.

Well that reminded me of something that I was going to post many weeks ago under a new title for future posts:  OMG-That’s It!  But I never got around to it. So I think I'll do it now.
Yes, this little post at the NRO’s ‘The Corner’ tells it exactly as it is. (note: no longer links)  Peter Kirsanow is so spot on, I almost choked to read such a succinct statement on   Obama has bothered me from the beginning. The post is “Obama vs. America” and few truer words have been written.  The following is the first and last paragraph:

President Obama’s statements regarding the proposed Ground Zero mosque are the latest in a series of indicators that we are at a very peculiar pass: We have a president who doesn’t get America. For the first time in history we have a president whose default setting is in opposition to the general sensibilities of the American people. His behavior too frequently suggests that he’s playing a cosmic joke on Americans’ essential decency, considered patriotism, and belief in American exceptionalism.
*************************
But perhaps most emblematic of Obama’s self-identification was his proud declaration, before a vast crowd in Berlin, that he is a “citizen of the world.” Most Americans believe that that world would be a much darker place without the United States of America. And they would be pleased if their president could express that belief without being patronizing, self-referential, or defensive.

But to do so, it’s helpful to get America and Americans.

And that says so much....Obama doesn't get America.

Also a good sign

It's rained here in Marion County for the first time in 5 weeks. 

Refreshing.

Cleansing.

And fits perfectly with the whole 'let's get rid of the scum (eg, Crist, Grayson)' vibe that's happening tonight.

Oh, and by the way

Goodbye Charlie!  Take your suntan spray and leave. Maybe you can now become that Democrat you always were.

Goodbye Alan Grayson!! Please let the door hit you in your ass on your way out.

And Welcome to Marco!!

Wow...Way to go Marion County

It seems my little old county went Republican all the way.

Even at the local level, every identifiable Democrat lost. I thought there was an outside chance that another Democrat would join the only other Dem on the county commission. Instead, the current Dem commissioner lost...big....in a 4 way contest that pitted 2 right of center candidates against the Republican.  The Repub won handily. 

Boy, was I wrong. But...I'm not sorry.

Well, the deed is done

I've cast my votes and ready to take the consequences.

I voted for no Democrats, and it was kinda hard to vote for a couple of Republicans.  But I did it. No 3rd parties for me, thank you. I've wasted votes in the past....but no more.

In the primary, I vote for the conservative. In the general, I vote for the Republican.

Usually these are the same. But not always.

Case in point...Gov Suntan. Voted for him as gov 4 years ago but only because he wasn't the Democrat.  Fortunately, it was much easier this year.  I was able to vote against the Democrat and the Dem wannabe. I really hope I don't see his name on any future ballots. And especially hope not to read that he's our new senator.

I was very pleased to vote against Rep. Grayson (the scumbag) and at the same time vote for a decent man, Dan Webster, to replace him. It's up to the putzes in Orlando if he gets returned to congress.

I'm hopeful, but probably the best I was able to do was counter one fraudulent Dem vote. But maybe that will be enough.

The financial system bailout (Part 3) See...I Told You So!

Now's my time to gloat a little bit. 

In  my post on 9/24/08, I said "The proposal is not to give money to profligate investors. Most of these mortgages etc will be repaid in substantial part and considerably secured. The assets acquired will be later sold, many at a potential profit."

Looks like I was more right than wrong, after 2 years. From Daniel Gross, Yahoo! Finance, Tuesday, October 5, 2010:

The price to taxpayers of the bailouts and financial rescue of 2008 and 2009 continues to fall sharply. In figures to be released later today, the Treasury Department will report that the final net cost of the TARP is expected to be about $50 billion,Yahoo! Finance has learned. Add in expected returns from Treasury's interest in insurance company AIG, and the final net cost will be closer to $30 billion.

The news of the shrunken cost, which comes on the two-year anniversary of the legislation that created TARP, represents a dramatic improvement. It highlights the resilience of the markets, as well as the folly of short-term financial projections. In August 2009, the TARP cost was projected to be $341 billion. In its mid-session review, released in August of this year, the Office of Management and Budget projected the total cost would come to $91 billion.

 

I support you, local Tea Party....

I do support most Tea Party positions and greatly support citizen involvement in all areas of politics and government.

BUT....PLEASE!!

Get your facts together and do your research before you attend public meetings, especially with local governments.

I had to attend the Marion County Commissioners meeting this morning and it was pretty well attended by local Tea Party members. Well, they had the red t-shirts anyway.

You do yourselves and your points of view a disservice when you ask such ridiculous questions and make such stupid statements.  Okay, so there were only 3 of you who did that, but it made the rest of you look as dumb.

Local issues do not always involve some overarching federal issue.  Your being pissed off at the feds doesn't mean that it translates well to everything local.

Keep it local and do your homework.  Our local commission is already damned receptive to the public. Most local governments in Florida are. All you have to do to be taken seriously is to know what the hell you're talking about.

Take a few minutes. Do the research. And if you don't know what is going on around you, then try to learn more the next time....beforehand.

Too many are already trying to put the Tea Party and other concerned citizens in a very negative light.  Please....don't help them.

September 11 - I Remember

I well remember 9-11-01.  Working on an important project and worried I wouldn't get finished in time.

Then I found out what was...and is...important. 

And what real problems are. 

And how you don't know what will happen when you kiss your loved ones goodby.  So be sure to kiss them and tell how you love them...everytime.

Nothing's gotten better in one year?

I was just doing some blog clean up and went back to last June (6/12/09) and saw the following comment in a post.

"I started but didn't finish a few halfassed posts about the gangster administration in DC. And about how the lifestyle nazis are in charge. And about how it's funny that Bush was portrayed as a dictator who was using a crisis to take power, but Lord Obama is just doing it for the people. Crazy ass world, my friends."

"So, just for the hell of it, here's "Master Jack" with the refrain: "It's a very strange world we live in" which seems appropriate for my attitude right now."

I tell you folks, things may have changed since then...but if so, they've gotten worse.

Yeah, let's have more of them there 'sin taxes' in Florida

Florida needs to balance our budget.  As I've noted before, we've increased 'sin taxes' on cigarettes because, well...hell, who gives a rats ass about smokers, right?

Well, guess what?  If you smoke, we might just screw you over again. Maybe not right now, but sometime.  Other states are considering it....and we need the bucks.

Across the country, states big and small are facing significant budget gaps.  In California, the worst case by far, candidates for state office are debating how to close a $19 billion budget deficit.  In Florida, meanwhile, another multi-billion dollar budget hole is on the cards, and looks set to grow with oil drilling off the Florida coast now off the table.  Still other states are facing similar situations, if on a less disastrous scale.  While many serving in statehouses nationwide will advocate for spending cuts, as opposed to tax increases, in some states, tax hikes are already being put on the table, with so-called “sin taxes” demonstrating renewed appeal.
**********
In Florida, where ongoing budget woes are anticipated, concern exists that legislators could jack up cigarette taxes again.  Last year, the State Senate—including its Republican members, led by Senate President Jeff Atwater and budget committee chief J.D. Alexander—unanimously voted to increase cigarette taxes by $1 a pack.  The House ultimately played ball, too, and Gov. Charlie Crist gave a thumbs up to the tax hike, which was expected to bring in anything from $700 million to $1 billion.
**********

At the end of the day, taxing those with a hard-to-break habit looks like easy pickings to those on the search for easy money.  But, critics say, revenue from cigarette tax increases is more akin to Fool’s Gold than anything else, and those attempting to close state budget deficits should be wary of relying on them.

So read the rest of it. 

Hey, Fool's Gold (above) is still gold(en) right?

Father's Day 2010

My Dad has been dead for a lot of years. But he's never been forgotten by his children or his wife.

The following is an excerpt of an unpublished short biography I've tried to write about him. I started this in 1998, but never finished it.  Probably because to tell his whole story might cause pain to others. Anyway:

Now this isn’t a sugary testimonial or paean to a father that never was. I watched a lot of television growing up, sure, but I did not live any life scripted in Leave It to Beaver, Ozzie and Harriet or Father Knows Best.  Hell, I never knew anyone even approaching Ward Cleaver, Jim Anderson or Ozzie Nelson while growing up. No, this is about a real life, a real person, as remembered by someone who was there at least part of the time.  It can’t be accurate in every detail, but it will be truthful in spirit.

I do know I met lots of people who liked him very much. Never anyone who hated him.

Dad, you may have been an ordinary man, but your beliefs, principles and actions were rather uncommon. I thank you for your commitment to our family, I respect your ability to persevere against long odds and I admire your ability to forgive the unfairness of life, fate and too many people. You are a role model for those who had hard lives, who have been angry and who have been hated, but who have also loved deeply. And I love you. But you know that.

**********

I’m afraid I can’t make Dad heroic, a mover and shaker of the world or even particularly memorable to those who didn’t know him.  He never seemed to think any of that was important.  I do remember his gentleness, how he held his wife, kissed her, hugged his children and pretended (I think) not to hear words that could cause a quarrel. I didn’t understand how right he was until I found my own wife and life. He showed me that you could be a man and a gentle man, a loving man.
**********
Dad was something of an enigma to me.  That doesn’t mean I ever really spent any time thinking of him that way.  I just knew while growing up that he was different from me.  Well, maybe I was different from him.  He was calm, soft spoken, quietly humorous, constant yet low key in his religion.  I saw him excited only a few times in my life. Most of them involved a “sport”—wrestling.  He liked wrestling!
**********
Oh yeah, being gentle doesn’t mean being soft. One night-I think I was about 16-I made him so mad by hurting my sister that he put his fists to me-for the first and only time.  He missed, mostly, but did push me against the wall and I hit my head.  I literally saw stars and I was pissed! But I also was very shocked…this wasn’t at all like my dad. There were few rules my father chose to strictly enforce, but striking, hurting or teasing my sister to tears was at the top. (Actually striking, hurting or teasing my mother was at the top, but I never was that mean or stupid.)

It’s strange, but I’ve thought of that incident several times over the years and was eventually able to put myself in his place. I never thought of it as abuse (it wasn't) and I never doubted I deserved it. What I eventually became clear on was...all in all, Dad showed remarkable restraint that evening.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.  Your children and your wife have never forgotten you. And we love you. And we miss you still.

Update - I've just enjoyed Pat Austin's post about her dad.

When my opinion changed

About abortion that is...well, actually about partial birth abortion.  As I noted in this previous post  "Now I'm pro-choice and used to be virulently pro-abortion, but have moderated over the years."

My real moderation has been about partial birth abortion.  I'm still pro-choice but I used to believe it was okay to kill a fetus anytime if it's your body/your choice. Hell, it was easier than actually having to think about the issue. But I must admit I always knew that killing a kid as it was being born was wrong.  Just wouldn't admit it.

That changed with the following picture because I could no longer ignore that there was a viable child in the womb...not just a mass of undifferentiated cells.

Now I know there have been questions about what this 1999 surgery picture is supposed to mean (see Snopes) but that was never the point for me. Yes, it would have been a more exceptional tear jerker if the fetus had grabbed the surgeon's hand but I'm willing to accept it was only a reflex.


But the point for me was: this 21 week old fetus appeared to be a fully formed baby-in-waiting....no longer a clump of cells.

That did it for me-no more evasions. I could no longer escape the knowledge that partial birth abortion was infanticide.

Hey, I was still pro-choice....but I was against murder.  Still am.

Ocala/Marion County-Center of Entertainment Universe

Well, sort of.

No, this isn't a post about John Travolta...or Bobby Goldsboro or Mel Tillis for those of you as old as I am.

No, this is even more current.

On the reality TV timeline, Denny Chapman recently moved into a spacious Los Angeles-area home with the best marksmen - and markswoman - in the country. Meanwhile, James Hammortree recently dumped trash on Yager's bed in the fighter house in Las Vegas.

In real time, the Ocala men have watched their reality TV lives unfold from their homes, just as the rest of the world has. The shows airing now were filmed months ago, and confidentiality contracts prohibit them from discussing upcoming episodes.

Chapman is on "Top Shot" and Hammortee is on "The Ultimate Fighter."

Hey, we take our celebrities as we find them.

Did I Miss It?

I mean, today is June 6th, right?

D-Day remembrance, right?

I've been busy this morning and just had a chance to turn on the computer...and the television...and looked at the local newspaper.

Apparently I'm wrong.  Hell, the History Channel has had a weekend of ice bound truckers (or something) but nothing about the hellish memories and incredible sacrifices that were made in June 6, 1944.

Maybe I'm wrong and don't remember well.  Hell, I am getting on in years.

But I choose to remember.

Missing President Bush

I was thinking of posting on this, but Pat Austin does it so much better.

And we both miss having George W Bush as President. He was a class act for 8 years of his presidency, and remains so today.

Character tells.

Damn...it's going to be a very long time until November 2012.

How Not To Stop a Oil Spill

NEW ORLEANS – BP's stock plummeted and took much of the market down with it Tuesday as the federal government announced criminal and civil investigations into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and BP engineers tried to recover from a failed attempt to stop the gusher with an effort that will initially make the leak worse.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who was visiting the Gulf to survey the fragile coastline and meet with state and federal prosecutors, would not specify the companies or individuals that might be targeted in the probes into the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

"We will closely examine the actions of those involved in the spill. If we find evidence of illegal behavior, we will be extremely forceful in our response," Holder said in New Orleans.

**********

Yep...that's the way to stop a disaster.  Threaten a law suit.  Send in the lawyers, by god.

Of course, this could put a new spin on the old joke: "What do you call 10,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?  A good start."

Hmmm, now that I think of it, lawyers should have been part of the "top kill" method.

A Day of Honor

Memorial Day 2010:  We are blessed to have had heroes keep our nation safe.  We honor today...and every day...those men and women who have sacrificed their lives and bodies for our freedom and safety.

Ballad of the Green Berets

The Deck of Cards

Didn't I

If I lived in Alabama...

I would vote for this man...for pretty much anything.

You've seen the video already, but watch it again.

And check out the rest of the site...pretty damned refreshing.

Real Leadership

A fellow had just been hired as the new CEO of a large high tech corporation.  The CEO who was stepping down met with him privately and presented him with three numbered envelopes.  “Open these if you run up against a problem you don’t think you can solve,” he said.  Well, things went along pretty smoothly, but six months later, sales took a downturn and he was really catching a lot of heat.  About at his wit’s end, he remembered the envelopes.  He went to his drawer and took out the first envelope.  The message read, “Blame your predecessor.”

The new CEO called a press conference and tactfully laid the blame at the feet of the previous CEO.  Satisfied with his comments, the press and Wall Street, responded positively, sales began to pick up and the problem was soon behind him.

About a year later, the company was again experiencing a slight dip in sales, combined with serious product problems.  Having earned from his previous experience, the CEO quickly opened the second envelope.  The message read, “Reorganize.”  This he did, and the company quickly responded.

After several consecutive profitable quarters, the company once again fell on hard times.  The CEO went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope.

The message said, “Prepare three envelopes.” 
(Once more, I don't know who to credit.)

The Plan

The following works for corporate...and especially...government bureaucracies. This was sent to me a couple of years ago, but I don't have any credits for it.

The Plan

In the beginning, there was the Plan.

And then came the Assumptions.

And the Assumptions were without form,

And the Plan was without substance.

And darkness was upon the face of the Workers

And they spoke among themselves saying,
"It's a crock of sh*t, and it stinks."

And the Workers went unto their Supervisors and said,
"It is a pail of dung, and we can't live with the smell."

And the Supervisors went unto their Managers saying,
"It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong,
such that none may abide by it."

And the Managers went unto their Directors saying,
"It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide
its strength."

And the Directors spoke among themselves, saying to one
another, "It contains that which aids plant growth, and
it is very strong."

And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents saying
unto them, "It promotes growth, and it is very powerful."

And the Vice Presidents went to the President saying
unto him, "This new plan will actively promote growth,
and vigor of the company with very powerful effects."

And the President looked upon the Plan, and said that
it was good,

And the Plan became Policy.

And this is how shit happens.

One picture summarizes a thousand words

Yep....this summarizes the Obama voter.

God help us all.

(And No, I don't remember where I got this, so can't credit.)

Charlie Crist

So Gov. Charlie is running for Senate as an "Independent" or, as we know what he eventually will be, a future Democrat.

I voted for Gov. Suntan last time. Oh, he wasn't my first choice. My voting methodology since the 2000 election has been unvaried: first, vote for the conservative Republican in the primary; second, vote for the Republican in the November election; third, no matter what, vote against the Democrat whenever I get the chance.  Simple? Yes...but it's served me well.

So, Gov. "I'm just an independent who will always work for what's best for Florida," I hope you enjoy your next few months of being somebody.  I look forward to you being out...out of everything. You never had any overriding principles that didn't involve your self interest.

So don't let the door hit you in the ass as you leave. 

And yeah...

I've been very quiet lately. Maybe I'll post more. 

I've been pissed at lots of crap that's been going on in our nation, but that's not been enough motivation.  Besides, others have posted and reported on these matters so much better.

Right now I was thinking of personal issues and decided I'd share.