...Favorite Quote Block...

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate" ... Jack Sparrow...  ... ... Captain... Jack Sparrow...

"It's much too late in the day for that!"... The Water Stand Lady...

"They're not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket... just the other side of the bucket!" Fred Thompson...

"No one knows what to do!" Senate Majority Leader, democrat harry reid

"After the first month of the Obama administration... I find any democratic reference to the Republican culture of corruption absolutely hilarious!"... Richard Holt

"I'm proud to be called a Right Wing Zealot by a member of the ruling party... FYI, I'll never bow to a Saudi King or cover a Christian symbol anywhere!"... Richard Holt

"I'm not running for office... so I can say whatever the HHHELLL I want!"  John Rich, Atlanta, Georgia, USA...

"Humans aren't born knowing how to share... It' a life-long process of teaching them how to be good little socialists..." ...Richard Holt

"Suicide bombers are murderers,not martyrs. Martyrs are killed BY OTHERS for refusing to renounce their faith..." Rick Warren on Twitter...

"Obama's let his Alligator mouth overload his Hummingbird rear end!" Larry Gatlin on Fox & Friends...

 

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Blog statistics through December 2008...

Word count = 72,424

Characters, no spaces = 332,438

Characters with spaces = 405,810

 

For those that think I ramble a lot...  You're right!... 72,424 words worth and counting!  And I'm like Nancy... I do it with humility and bipartisanship... and humility... and humility...

---

Christmas Night, 2008...

Christmas Day... My how the year has flown...

 

I spent the day at home... going outside just a couple of times to bring in some firewood... to help Bec unload her car... and to take Duke on a run... (Duke did the running part... I rode the Honda...)

 

It started out after daylight... being awakened by Duke's "concerned" method...  His "concerned" method is to sit as close as possible... with his ears wrinkled up and a slight whiny whistle coming through his nose... and his nose oscillating across my face as he looks at one eye at the time to see if I'm playing possum and catch me peeking at him...

 

This is his, "Everybody else is up!  What's your problem?" method...

 

When he catches me peeking at him... his "concerned" method changes to his "no excuses" method which is jump back and forth across my stomach, which is the sooner I get up the less I'm gonna hurt method...

 

The early morning was spent listening to music on the local access channel... which by the way has a lot of good music...

 

During the morning, we watched a little Food TV... The Outdoor Channel... and Christmas Music Specials such as one of Bill Gaither's Christmas shows at Christ Church in Nashville... 

 

This brought back childhood memories of listening to the LeFevers on TV from Savannah... and from then on...the day was splotched with stories and other good memories...

 

With today's digital methods of documenting history... it's difficult to pass up an opportunity to record little bits of those memories for posterity...

 

Nobody around this house wants to record anything but the good stuff…

 

And to continue that intention... I'll hit the save button and Duke and I'll retire for the evening... so we can start the whole waking up process all over again tomorrow morning...

 

Merry Christmas to all... and to all a good night...

---

December 11, 2008...

Thank goodness the Democrats are back in power!  This should be fun!

 

It's amazing how Barry was able to come up through Chicago politics unscathed and come out clean as a whistle!

 

And I'm just plain tickled we have Jesse Jackson's legitimate son (assumed) about to prove how above the fray his Illinois politics are... You show'em Jesse!

---

December 8, 2008...

I know... I know... I've been AWOL... but I've been busy...

 

Since the election, I've spent most of my waking, non-working, non-hunting time on the Internet searches...

 

I'm nowhere finished...

 

But on another topic... so you'll feel better about the "loan" (wink... wink...) to the big 3 automakers... You remember?   The ones in Detroit, Michigan, USA...

 

Here's a couple of links to General Motors websites...

 

http://www.gmchina.com/english/

 

No... Better scratch going to the GM Argentina site... My anti-virus caught it trying to download a trojan horse of some kind...

 

Maybe I'll just copy some of the info from other GM sites... like this from GM Africa...

 

 

Hmmm... Maybe we need to pump up GM after all... I mean... China and Africa need our help...

 

I think I'll call my representatives and have them support those good old Michigan boys... We can't let those General Motors United Auto Workers go without their average $73.26 in salary and benefits, now can we?

---

November 16, 2008...

You know how some people can be demanding... Well... You ain't seen nothin' yet!

 

Take for example... Ipsilateral "Touch-Me-Not" "Doodlebug" M.

 

I'm not using her last name in order to protect the innocent...

 

Ipsilateral is from New Orleans... and we're pretty sure she voted for Cynthia Mckinney for president...  BHO wasn't radical enough for her! 

 

When she was named... Sue, Sally or even Beatrice wasn't in the offing... Some people just don't want traditional names... especially those like Ipsilateral... 

 

She has no savings... She thinks everyone owes her the comforts of life... She won't work... She sleeps most of the day... She doesn't even clean up after herself...

 

I wonder if she'll work in BHO's Civilian National Security Force if she's required to?  You might remember that he said he was going to give out all kind of perks to those who support him... but they'd have to give back...

 

Since she doesn't want to work now... I take it she most likely won't work then... but who knows?... She might want to go to Africa and do her public service there... with other decedents of her ancestors...

---

November 12, 2008...

Back during the final days of the run-up  the election... Barry presented to the poor people of the nation... that the government of Iraq  had something like $80,000,000,000 and we should be making them spend their own money and stop spending our hard earned dollars!

 

And today I read that Harvard, that donated to Barry Obama's election effort some $4 or $500,000... but has $34,000,000,000 in their endowment fund...

 

Hmmm... Harvard is a tax exempt institution...

 

Maybe we po'peoples... need to expect Harvard to spend their own money and stop giving them tax money in grants and aid...

 

But then maybe they'd not educate so many executives and lawyers to send to the huge corporations that then collapse requiring us po'peoples to have to borrow a trillion or two to help them make their payments on their cottages in Bermuda...

 

This is all starting to make sense to me!

November 10, 2008...

On the very same day I hear Lanny Davis, former Special Counsel to Bill Clinton, say..., "This isn't socialism... You don't see corporations being taken over by the government..."

 

I see we've nearly doubled the amount of money we've already given to AIG... and am told that I, as a "tax payer"... now own stock in that company...

 

It's such a better way to spin it than by saying..., "Give me some more money, Richard... I have huge mean evil corporations I think need your money worse than you do..."

 

Being a "stock owner" alone, won't allow us to go on their resort/business trips to desert retreats for hot stone massages...

 

We just get the hot stones!

---

November 4, 2008...

Maybe this new communist crap won't be so bad...

Maybe I'll get used to it...

...

Maybe not...

---

November 2, 2008...

"The people will believe a lie... if they want it to be true..." Some Wizard guy in a TV movie I was watching during supper...

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November 1, 2008...

After Tuesday... I can move to damage-control... ...Until then... I'll continue to speak of elections...

John McCain wasn't my pick in the primary...   ...Barry Obama... never was even a remote consideration...

There's only one pick for me... and it's not the best of two evils...  ...It's the best choice for me...

One represents some of me... and the other doesn't care anything at all for me...

Barry doesn't like anything about me... I'm not a follower... I'm not needy... I'm not a two-word man... I don't scream and yell and slap my preacher on the back when he yells, "GOD D*M* AMERICA!"...

I can go on and on... if you'd like...

No ladies and gentlemen, apparently I'm not a good little Christian boy... because I'll never forgive preacher wright for that... or Barry for playing in the litter box and trying to cover that one up trying to make us think its ok...

Then we have John, that according to a political candidate match test I recently took... Is only a 15% better match for me than Barry!

I've spoken with many who think I'm a terribly right wing individual... When I mention to them that I'm middle of the road!  They laugh!  Because they think they're middle of the road... 

Earlier in this Blog I've spoken of this... Folks?  Being middle of the democratic road and middle American is two totally different things! 

A moderate democrat is far left of me!  But don't confuse it with being middle America!  Because it's not...

Ok... Ok... I'll let it rest for now... I'll let it settle in that for me, John McCain is only a 15% better match than Barry...

Remember... every time I've taken the Political Compass test... If you place a sewing needle in the very center of the test... and try to balance an M&M on top of the needle... I, like the M&M... fall off to some side of the needle, but still land right next to the needle... just like my test results have...  in the dang middle!  Get over it!  Apparently it's ok to be radical left these days... but not for me...

I'm just a middle American, country-roader... Richard Holt... and I'm taking the 15% I have more in common with John McCain and running with it!

... November 1, 2008... Evening edition...

The murder rate in BHO's home town, Chicago, is the highest in the nation...

There were no deaths in the War in Iraq during October!

But the total death count for Iraq so far, for 2008 is 282...

The murder toll in Chicago so far, for 2008 is 426!

I know why 282 have died in the War... It's a WAR!

But I don't know why a well organized place like Chicago is far more dangerous than a war zone!

---

Halloween, 2008...

When you get a moment... maybe after the election... and things are all better...

 

Write your Senator... and ask them to send you a detailed list of how many people are still staying in hotel rooms... and eating on a government tab too...  as a result of Hurricane Katrina... remember the bad storm of late August, 2005... ... ...38 months ago...

 

(It really doesn't matter if they get cleaning service every day or not... That's not the point...)

 

Oh... yes... and ask them to give you a dollar total for what has been spent so far on that ongoing Government intervention...

 

This assignment is made, in case this Halloween wasn't scary enough for you this year...

---

October 29, 2008... This is a very important day in American politics... No! not that Barry is wasting several million dollars worth of TV time tonight... But that I'm announcing I plan to assemble an exploratory committee to try and come up with a reason for me NOT to run for the Presidency of 2012!

Honestly friends!  Why the hell not?  While Duke and I were eating fried chicken for supper a bit ago... Ole' BHO was stammering to his drooling Halloween hoards, "Why-why-why that old McCain is-is-is just trying to pick one person from my past and is trying to scare you with him!  He's not on my paid staff now... he's just somebody I knew when I was 8..."  Or something like that...

 

Barry... This is old Richard talking to you here... The one I tried to get you to listen a long time ago... The one that could have helped you out big time with real down-to-earth advice...

 

It's not that your opposition is trying to pick one little person from your checkered past that bothers me!  It's the half dozen radicals a day that's been coming out of the woodwork for the better part of two years that's got me worried!

 

You also need to get off that tired old stump speech, "I don't look like all the other presidents on the dollar bills and did they tell you I'm only half-black?!!" ... or something like that...

 

After all... your gang has already voted at least once... and by the time they turn in all their ballots, they'll still be voting for you! You don't need to try and keep getting them to vote...

 

This is another reason I'm organizing my committee...  Duke should be able to bring in a ton more new votes than Barry's Acorn group did... And I'm sure Duke wouldn't cheat...

 

Which makes now a good time to be thankful that ACORN didn't respond to my membership application... With this Blog entry, I'm officially withdrawing my application... I don't think we'd have gotten along anyway...

 

I'll be back in a little while to type some more... on the topic of running for President... Duke's barking which means I need to bring in some more heater wood...  The stove's probably getting a little too cool for him...

...

Wednesday night on The Outdoor Channel... It's Shooting Gallery night!  It's 8:00 p.m. and they're at the United States Shooting Academy... and talking about one of my rifles... so I'll be paying close attention to what these guys have to show... The Outdoor Channel is a very educational network...

 

My Second Amendment rights are just one of the reasons I'm considering this run... 

 

Barry is running for the people that interest him... I'm still not sure why John is running... but I know I'd try to run for a much larger section of the Americans...

 

Right up front I know I'd be the only candidate that would call bullshit... bullshit!  That is one thing missing from Presidential politics...  Everybody just says, "Let's not stray from the facts..."  I'd just say, "Bullshit!" Then I'd get on here and write about the expression Nancy had on her face when she brought me some bullshit legislation to sign!  Oh yes... I'd also have a YouTube video to go along with it... I think the Americans need to see much more of that shocked face!

 

I realize I couldn't have platform points of earning what you get... or keeping what you earn... Because it appears there are far more that want, but want it now... than those that want but are willing to work toward getting it...

 

I think the hoards now in the Obamasses... are not hearing Barry talk about not getting it right away... and possibly having to "serve" in return...  maybe BHO'll still be able to calm his crowd even after he's elected and is off to complete him mission for those he cares about most...

 

I recently had dinner with a friend... and the question came up, "When did we go wrong?"  referring to what point did the average American go from... "Oh no!... My house burned down! I'll call my insurance company and build another house!" to "Oh no!... Where's that George Bush with my ice and debit card?  And where's the TV camera so I can get on CNN to tell my senator to rush my Airstream while somebody builds me another house?"

 

My answer was the middle or late 1970's... When UPS came up with "Next Day Air"... After much laughter... I explained, "No... really! I think that pretty much explains it all!" 

 

Before that, we had to plan ahead... maybe even work a little more...  At home... if you needed something, you had to anticipate... If you wanted something, you had to wait till you went to town to purchase it... or order it through a mail order catalog...

 

Then along came Next Day Air!  And if you remembered a birthday was tomorrow... you could have a nice broach or vase delivered tomorrow!

 

Companies once had to keep inventory and be organized enough to have necessary goods in stock... then along came NDA!  And heck... now you can have Halloween decorations from China here by tomorrow afternoon!

 

Maybe I'm wrong... no offense to United Parcel Service...  It's just a guess... but it was at least along about the same time...

 

It's 9:15 p.m. and now on The Outdoor Channel... they're explaining the finer points points of shooting long bows... Everyone may need those skills soon...  If you don't get The Outdoor Channel on your local cable or satellite, call and get it...

 

You'll just see down to earth folks... doing down to earth things... You won't see people spending millions and millions of heaven only knows who's dollars, (and a couple of my friends as well...) trying to make themselves into something they're not...  If any of them are gay or Methodist or liberal...you wouldn't know it... Well that wasn't a good example... I doubt any of them are liberal... But you get my point...

 

As for me... If I run for the 2012 Presidency of the United States... You'll know who I am... what I stand for... who I do it with... where I do it... why I do it... and get to hear me call bullshit, when it's necessary!

 

You'll see I'm a middle aged, guiltless, fat, bald-white guy... (of which there's absolutely nothing wrong with) ... and unashamedly red-blooded, by-God American!  And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that either!

 

Now to wind down a bit...

 

Recently, I've advocated considering voting anti-incumbent... when I could stand to...  while also remembering my problem of  not being able to find myself, or have been given a single reason to vote for a single democrat...

 

However, I have totally decided to support Georgia's incumbent Senator, Saxby Chambliss... The lies the democrat groups and Jim Martin have put out about The Fair Tax pushed this "change" crap to a new level for me!

 

My advice to Jim would have been... shut up and just ride BHO's robe tails... Even though you're not one of BHO's favorite types... I'm sure he'll use your democrat vote anyway... 

 

But instead, you just went ahead and paid good money from my democrat friends to lie about The Fair Tax!

 

So, if you get there... just shut up and do what you're told... You won't represent me!

 

See what I mean... There's no other way to describe this stuff other than to be honest and say, "Bullshit!"

 

I think it'll make a catchy political slogan!  It's terribly versatile... I'd mix it up some, by putting the word, "That's..." in front of it... or muffling it, when sitting in at the United Nations... disguising it as a sneeze possibly...

---

October 27, 2008... edited

I’m declaring the voter registration system in the United States is broken… and thus should be ignored as the democrats suggested with our immigration system…

 

I must have a Social Security number to pay my taxes… I understand I must file a return with my Social Security number in tow, even if I don’t make enough money to pay any tax…

 

I’m not 100% sure of that since that’s never happened… If I remember correctly I even had to pay taxes when I was 16 and just worked a couple of months in the summer…

 

In recent years, we’ve heard about communication problems amongst law enforcement agencies… and hurricane preparedness agencies…Apparently we’ve made strides in these areas… however… the voter registration process is still on the forest floor with the ACORNS...

 

If the government should know who we are… and have our addresses in some database… shouldn’t the citizens already be eligible and registered to vote?

 

It seems to me, the voter could at least be responsible for keeping their addresses updated… But maybe that’s asking too much…I’m sure our next government will provide a community organizer if you don't want to be bothered with that yourself…

 

If individuals change their address for tax purposes, driver’s license renewals and banking… it seems the individual could be responsible for voter address changes as well… But maybe I'm asking too much...

 

Recently, we’re hearing about court rulings about not “disenfranchising” voters…

 

I’ve also wondered why this word is used as only a few of the democrats I know, would know what the word means…  I’ve hoped they could find a simpler word to use… and still get their point across…

 

As a public service, I looked it up and will post three definitions of the word, enfranchise...

 

1. To grant a franchise to; admit to citizenship, esp. to the right of voting.

 

2.  To endow (a city, constituency, etc.) with municipal or parliamentary rights.

 

3. To set free; liberate, as from slavery.

 

The prefix, "dis" means opposite... as in disassemble... Using that in a sentence... The Founding Fathers assembled the Constitution of the United States... and the new government disassembled it!...

 

It always helps to use a word in a sentence...

 

Possibly, the reason the word “disenfranchise” is used is so the change group will continue to think the republicans are wanting to re-enslaved them… This is merely speculation as I don’t think like that... I like to use straight talk and simple words…

 

Years ago, I worked as a poll worker… Yes… I sat there across the table and made sure everyone got the proper democratic ballot or put a check beside names on the list of democrats… As I recall back then, almost nobody in that little county, ran on the republican ticket during the primary… There just weren’t enough of them running to have competition… and most winners of the primary, won the general election by default, since they had no republican opponent…

 

I was quite young, but could still see places where votes could be manipulated…

 

For instance, there must have been an extremely high number of illiterate voters in our precinct… because the same person would go behind the curtain with the voter to assist them… I take it, that person was the community organizer of the day…

 

Another situation that’s wide open for fraud… is absentee ballots…

 

Since the courts keep attempts for clean voting methods at bay… because of the fear of disenfranchising poor and minority voters… it’s easy to continue to get your late grandfather’s absentee ballot, fill it out and mail it back in… or be registered in Detroit because you had to go live with Aunt Abigail that summer when you were 16… that’s reason enough to vote there… after all Aunt Abigail is almost like your mother!... and also be registered in one of the 8 Alabama counties where there are more registered voters than adults, just because you once attended a family reunion there… and then there’s that long lost cousin in New York where you visited back in 1969 when BHO was only 8… You might want to move there someday, so it should be ok to go ahead and get registered there… you know, so you can vote early there too!

 

And nobody ever knows the difference and nobody ever finds out!…

 

If ACORN can register Mickey Mouse and someone’s dead goldfish… yet the court rules these flagged voters can’t be denied the right to cast their ballot… Then what else are we to do other than declare the system broken and ignore it!

 

That’s a popular excuse with politicians that don’t have a clue what to do about the problem!

 

And since we’re all into change these days… I hope this new administration cleans up that old Constitution or ours… and make it something that me and Michelle can both be proud of…

---

October 26, 2008...

I’m looking forward to the new organization of this nation…

 

With the death of the republican party, of which I had some things in common… comes a new morality I guess I get to adopt!

 

As with BHO’s Education Groups we’ve heard so much about… remember the ones those evil republicans pointed out where he served on boards with william ayers…

 

Only a small percentage of monies doled out by the foundations, where he and bill ayers served as Directors... were to radical, Marxist or Leninist groups…

 

Most were to mainstream and well respected groups…

 

Which makes the planning of my new moral standards easy…

 

As long as I’m pretty good most of the time… It’s ok to be real bad some of the time…

 

See… I’m getting with the swing of things… I’m finally starting to understand rosie o’donnell!  After all william ayers and bernadine dorhn are parents too… and just trying to do what’s best for their family!

 

From now on you must look only at the good parts… and ignore the bad parts!

 

I can see this is going to be fun! And we haven’t even really started yet!

---

October 22, 2008... World Series Game One Day!...

Baseball... not Barry and John... Thank goodness...

 

I'll just enter a couple of comments on the state of my politics...

 

1. It's time for me to find a political group to belong to... and trust me it isn't the republicans or democrats...  I have a few things in common with the republicans and have found nothing whatsoever in common with the democrats... So it's time to find something new...

 

2. If I can't find it... It's time to start it...

 

3. And the time for me to start looking is now...

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October 15, 2008... It's Debate, round 3... Urgent message!

Sorry... I can't type now... I'm suspending my Blog for the remainder of the night as I travel outside to blow leaves around the yard...

 

It's 8:45 p.m. and I have a full gas tank on the blower... a Fiskars rake... a tarp... one of the Honda's to pull the tarp... and tons of poplar leaves...

 

A debate between the top two presidential candidates will be starting about the same time I crank the blower...

 

Please understand this decision to suspend my Blog for the evening... But I'm sure you understand my sentiments to make this evening productive...

 

 

---

October 9, 2008...

I think it is absolutely hilarious the democrats are calling me a racist! When the main reason I can't vote for BHO is his disdain for me and all other Caucasians...  That's really a hoot!

---

October 7, 2008... It's Debate, round 2... I'll type as they babble...  edited...

Why is it that  I'm in a group that isn't getting any attention...

 

I'm a good mortgage customer... I can afford my house payment... I have a buffer to afford this mortgage for quite a while, in case of a personal crisis... I have a good loan to worth ratio even though I have lost paper value as everyone has...

 

From what John just said... I'd get some relief under his plan if I was one of the folk that wasn't such a good customer... and what did BHO say... I don't even remember... neither is a good thing...

 

Apparently the Community Reinvestment Act was a wonderful thing... We'll now bail out all those who, to my opinion... shouldn't have ever been given so much in the first place...  But then who the hell am I to say such?

 

Teresa Finch had great expression with her question on why we should trust either one of the candidates with our finances... BHO played a history teacher with his answer... And John... John... The people are standing up and asking their questions... Answer them... and stop thanking them for asking the question...

 

Ole G.W. only asked for $700,000,000,000 for a bailout... and since the legislature knew they were going to pass it somehow... they threw in an extra $150,000,000,000 for fun...

 

I mean... while you're writing record sized checks... why not round it up to a trillion!

 

But John... We don't want affordable insurance... We want FREE health care! 

 

That's the ticket BHO!  If we finally give the line item veto to a president!  I want it to be YOU!  Cause I trust you so much!

 

Where do I get the bumper sticker that says... Don't blame me!  I didn't vote for either of these two guys!

 

BHO... you should realize some of the people are you're talking to reasonably intelligent, and clear thinkers...

 

Where does the Peace Corp serve?  I've never seen one of their busses...

 

Boys... I'm in favor of The Fair Tax!

 

No... We all know the most recent effort to reform Social Security was stopped... I remember the democrats stopped it... I don't have to listen to John and BHO's history lessons...

 

Health insurance was one way a company could give an employee a perk... Now it's talked about as if it's a guarantee of employment and another American right!

 

John... John... every problem should have the smartest people to serve on commissions to resolve the issues... That should be government's plan to work on every governmental responsibility... But remember the government isn't responsible for EVERYTHING!

 

What about green farm tractors... and I'm not talking about John Deere!  Every time energy efficient vehicles are mentioned... the topic turns to electric cars or other alternative fuel source for tiny cars...  But what about the farm... most of which require large machines and heavy trucks to feed us...

 

John's right on that... Politicians that point out that legislation was voted against by another politician... I want to know what was tacked on to the bill... and was that the reason the legislator voted against it... was it the main bill or the riders that fund community organizers pastor's retirement home and line of credit...

 

What does the health care industry and insurance business have in common... If you want health care... purchase it... If you want better insurance... buy it... In this world... you pretty much get what you pay for!  No... wait a minute... it appears you get more if you stop the payments... the government then will step in and make them whole... Everybody wins... Everybody gets a trophy...

 

Maybe BHO's Junior Regiment will be checking family insurance papers while they're picking up the family weapons...  You know I'm good with killing two birds with one stone...

 

Will one of you mention the global economical problems... It's as if we're in this by ourselves... and we're not...

 

I've heard this crap over and over...  BHO... nothing worth having is free... and oh yes... Start close to home... and resolve the moral and humanitarian problems in Haiti... They're black too and in terrible shape... or do you not have any interest there... They're your brothers too... not many are muslims... but they're still brothers... and in terrible need...

 

Whatever happened to the time when there was dignity in the office of the President... Back when we didn't know much about them?

 

Yes... or No... boys... yes or no...

 

I'd not negotiate with anyone... things that aren't negotiable... However, I would send Armadillojad an email telling him to sit down and shut the hell up...

 

BHO... you seem to white to be called a black man... from food stamps to Harvard... from a black community organizer to the White House!  I'm so proud of you!

 

I don't like picking from candidates that have been grooming themselves to be president...

 

Why in the world does John want to be President...  I know why BHO does... I just don't understand John's reasons...

---

October 5,2008... Duke's fine... Just fine... Thanks for asking...

Today was a laid back day... most of it anyway...

 

Duke and I went to the farm, after lunch to lightly disk the food plot in preparation for planting some wheat...

 

Yesterday, Duke and I had been on the same plot, spraying a second pass of herbicide to kill the grass and weeds, that had been growing all summer... Duke was satisfactorily entertained by chasing and catching field mice... 

 

I disked for over an hour... and as we were finishing up... Duke had been riding the tractor... as he was pretty tired... 

 

From were we were on the Farm, we had to cross two creeks on the way back to the truck... the first creek crossing is a small one, but  Duke likes to get a drink at every opportunity... especially today... as hot and dry it was...

 

Between the two creeks, Duke got ahead of me a bit... and went down a road off to the side, like he always does to smell what there was to smell... I got up to the road and called to him, like I always do, telling him to come on and he should know we don't ever go down that road...

 

As I was talking to him, he reacted to something that I knew had to be a bad snake! 

 

I've been around a lot of bad snakes in my life... Living on the Georgia coast brought most of that experience... and hunting Wheeler County, in middle Georgia, brought some more bad snake experiences... and the most recent was at Amber and Gene's snake condo...

 

But bad snakes aren't nearly as plentiful here in the Georgia mountains... I've lived up here since 1991, and have only seen copperheads... and no rattlesnakes till now...

 

Even though rattlesnakes up here aren't plentiful... I never drop my guard... I'm always looking under my feet and watching Duke and others I'm with...

 

I stopped the tractor quickly and hit the ground running, trying to keep Duke back... Duke was on the other side of the snake and there was no way around the snake... The little road I'm referring to is basically two ruts in dense weeds... with thick briars and brush on both sides...

 

I didn't have... nor could quickly find anything to dispatch the snake with... but none the less I had to know where the snake was... because of Duke!

 

I watched Duke's eyes and as I approached the snake, his rattles started to sing...  Normally, once I've found a snake's location, I'm calm... but this was no calm time... I still had Duke to contend with...

 

Duke's a cool dog... but trained to jump over a snake on command...he's not!

 

Watching Duke was very interesting... He realized this was a situation of high anxiety... by his own senses and by the way I was acting... I didn't want him to think I was taking this lightly...

 

I talked Duke back and got him to stay as I backed my way to the tractor  and looked in the tool box for something to work on the snake...  I only had an old timber spike, we use for a pin on one plow...

 

The feeling I had was that of needing a bulldozer but only having a shovel... but it was all I had...

 

As I quickly got back to the snake... It was time to get Duke on my side of the snake...  The plan I quickly put together, was to get close to the snake and distract him, while I ran Duke by the snake...

 

It worked... I called to Duke to run and get on the tractor!  I had the snake coiled an looking at me... and then started Duke running to the tractor in the other tire rut... Did I say this was a high anxiety moment?  Magnify what you might think by 1000!

 

At the moment I thought right... I broke to run toward the tractor...  I timed it to where in case the snake turned to Duke, I would still be close enough to react...

 

Everything worked as planned... but I'll never forget the look on Duke's face as he ran by the snake!  It wasn't a good look!

 

I kept him running and got him on the tractor... Then went back with my spike and dispatched the snake... 

 

I don't recommend taking on a rattlesnake with a short tool... but if you do... have good aim, because your first attempt is your best shot... If you miss, you might not be able to retrieve your tool...

 

And... of course... I missed... and I'm not going to say how I distracted the snake to get the tool back...  This in an effort to keep my technique from being used by someone else... I had already checked my pockets... I had my wallet, cell phone, truck keys and a red bandana...

 

Let's just say I used one of those, in a real life MacGyver moment!  I'd much rather had my walking stick or at least a Swiss Army knife... but I didn't...

 

But on the second attempt... I hit pay dirt...

 

Using my "MacGyver item" to check his ability to react... I quickly stepped on his head before pulling him out of the grass, with a good grip behind his head...

 

I had things under control at this point... but Duke now thinks I'm crazy!

 

I just say to him... Join the crowd... most everybody else does too...

 

...YouTube Link...

 

---

October 2, 2008... VP Debate vs. Waiting for critters to cross the creek... spelling and sentence structure edited... thought content, however has been left intact...

Duke and I have a decision to make...  Are we going to sit out in the cool air and sniff for critters crossing, up the creek... or are we going to listen to the VP debate?

 

Duke's an opportunist... He's as good as BHO actually... Duke goes out on the front porch and sniffs the almost continuous breeze coming down the creek... You can tell when something's above the waterfalls, because he takes off into the night with break-neck speed!  It's pretty good sport... for Duke anyway... In a little while... he comes back... and starts the whole process over again...

 

Now for the VP debate... My goodness... Hopefully tonight, they'll break down and let us in on the joke... and we'll all have a good laugh... The joke will be over and Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich...the real presidential candidates... will step out on stage and we'll all applaud wildly...

 

Dennis and Ron don't look all that crazy these days, now do they?

 

I love the little tidbits we're hearing tonight... Like one House member, mentioned that half of the Senate bail-out money will be immediately leaving the country... He called it the "China Two-Step!"

 

Heck people!  We have illegal aliens right here in the States, we need to give houses to...

 

I guess the automakers will have to build their own trucks to pick up  their $25,000,000,000... Cause the fleet delivering the $85,000,000,000 to AIG will be busy for a while...

 

In keeping with this year's main topic... I think it's time to have a "Do you know how big this is?" moment...

 

One U.S. Dollar Bill is 6.14" long... If we hire the entire Chinese population to lay them end to end... The $850,000,000,000 Senate bail-out money would be 5,219,000,000,000 inches long... Divide that by 12 inches to the foot you get 434,919,666,666.67 feet...

 

Now divide that by 5,280 feet in a mile... and you get 82,370,580.8 miles... The mean circumference of the earth is 24,880.62 miles... So the Chinese will be wrapping the earth at the equator with the single file dollar bills... 3,310.63 times...

 

Considering the thickness of a dollar bill is 0.0043" thick, and not taking into consideration that the outer wraps of a roll of toilet paper are longer than the inner wraps... The wraps of dollar bills around the earth, totaling the amount the Senate approved last night will be almost 14 1/4" high...

 

Ok... now it's time to watch the next sissy slap fight/debate... cause Duke's taking a nap...

 

Live from Washblue!  It's another live Blog entry...

 

1. That first question was a slow pitch to Joe... And what the hell is he saying?  It sounds like he's running for Senate!

2. And Sarah should have worn red lipstick...

3. OUT OF TOUCH!!! OUT OF TOUCH!!! Is that what you're going to say?  The Chinese are out there staging people to start wrapping the earth 3,300 times with the bail-out dollars you senators said we HAD to spend!  And you have the nerve to talk about being out of touch???

4. No Sarah... There's no time for personal responsibility!  Not at a time when we have kids standing in line to buy video games!  And those lines are going to get longer since we're commandeering the Chinese to wrap the earth with our tax dollars!

5. It's amazing that one politician says the other one does something... then the accused politician says that's not true... then turns the accusation on the original accuser... saying, "The record stands for itself!"  Somebody's lying...

6. Smoke... Mirrors... Smoke... Mirrors...

7. Here's another No for Sarah... Since we have video games to buy... when will we have time to buy insurance... We expect the senate to provide us with our medical care... We don't need no stinking insurance!...

8. Joe?... If taxes are so bad... Get rid of most of them!

9. Joe?... How am I going to pay insurance premiums through my employer when I don't have an employer?

10. Teddy Kennedy isn't un-patriotic!  His off-shore family wealth is extremely patriotic!  He doesn't like paying the pesky taxes the rest of us have to!

11. Our legislators don't like us knowing what they're doing... Last night two senators spoke of the reason senators have 6 year terms... It allows them to make the tough decisions they have to, without fear of their constituents throwing them them out on their keesters...  or earlier in our history... wanting to call them out for a duel...

12. That's right Joe... it's complicated... because of the likes of you!

13. Nonsensical... What a great word, Sarah... to describe our politician's tactics...

14. Now Sarah... I don't care about climate change... I'm interested in what Supreme Court cases you don't like...

15. Joe... and a Christmas Turkey...

16. I'm sorry... That was disrespectful...  But I've learned from the left it's ok to say such out loud... It helps calm the frustrations of algore losing to G.W. ...

17. What Sarah?  You mean your natural gas pipeline is going to be a bigger project than the Big Dig in Boston? But the question is... Do we need the pipeline as much as we needed that big Boston hole in the ground...

18. Blah... Blah... Blahhh... With all due respect, Joe... You're a blithering idiot!  But nice tie... See how easy that was... I could be a senator... Say anything you want, but follow it up with a nice comment...

19. Joe... Maybe the Iraqi Government has an $80,000,000,000 account... But that's not even enough money for the senate to give to AIG on a September Sunday afternoon like ya'll did recently...  You keep saying it, like the American people think it's a lot of money...  After the debate, Joe read the top of this Blog... Now THAT'S a bunch of money!

20. Joe... shhh... shhh... Don't talk about Muslim schools... That one's a little touchy...

21. Ole Armadillojad... I knew he'd get honorable mention tonight...

22. Got a flea there Joe?  Or is it just a starchy collar... Maybe you can have your wife to do a little better with the laundry...

23. I say talk too... Send me and Duke!  We'd talk... We'd say something like... "Better back up big boy and shut the hell up!"  I'd talk the way us country-roaders talk...

24. Remember I reported earlier that I felt I could get more votes than Joe Biden!  I was right...

25. I don't know... G.W. may not lose this election after all Joe...

26. Accuracy apparently is a matter of which side of the isle you sit on...

27. Joe... More troops = a surge... or what am I missing...

28. I agree Joe... I don't know how John got the nomination either... But with your explanations... I understand why BHO is  Emperor material after all... It seems he's done more than anyone ever in the few weeks he's actually spent in the senate... including accepting the $126,349 from the banking biggies...

29. No Joe... Remember?  We don't need war!  The only way to save all the billions and pay for healthcare, is to eliminate the war and the armed services too...  Scrap the fleet of ships, planes, missiles and tanks!  Then we can all light-up a joint and make love to one another...

30. Joe... Your family compound is way different than the country-roaders and main-streeters  neighborhoods you talk so fondly of...

31. Joe, you couldn't get elected to possum crossing guard in my community...

32. Where's hillery when you need her!?!

33. You're right, Joe... you aren't going to change... and everyone else knows that... except for the 9,000 voter you got to vote for you from the whole country!

34. Mercy!  Have Mercy! 

35. Bipartisanship... spartamanship! 

36. Ladies and Gentlemen... I'm not sure who'll be determined the winner... But... I've certainly determined the loser...

 

Me...

 

Now... Duke and I will retire to the yard to see if we smell anything up the creek... cause politics has certainly stunk up the living room...

---

 

October 1, 2008...

I was watching the Senate debates on C-Span earlier this evening... I know... I know... I don't know why...

 

...to see if they had purchased new carpet I guess...

 

They spent 40% of their time thanking colleagues... some of which were friends... 20% checking the time left for their "side"... 10% of the time actually saying something, and 30% of their time repeating themselves!

 

I switched to The Outdoor Channel... They're active, instructive, helpful, entertaining, interesting... you get my point...

 

They have fast security lanes in the airports now... Maybe they could, for a premium fee... give us a remote control for Washington...

 

When we don't like what we see... We just click them off...

---

September 29, 2008... Where's the civility, Nancy? edited...

Madam Speaker?  Madam Speaker?  BHO has refused my offer of advice... Please, let me help you... The next time you want to pass some of G.W's failed policies... and can only muster 60% of your own party... don't... and I repeat... don't get up to a microphone and say stupid stuff... Consider that free advice that's worth a fortune!

 

And definitely... I repeat... definitely don't try to blame the opposition party for failing to do something that you couldn't even convince your like natured minions to vote for... That's actually crazy!

 

Where I come from... a 60% grade is clearly an F!  F is short for Failure, Madam Speaker...

 

Now... For those that don't know the truth... The definition of the word "bipartisanship" is an action created by two entities by agreement, compromise or other cooperation...

 

I've felt for quite some time the democratic definition of bipartisanship is you better agree with them... or you aren't playing fair... and they'll talk about your mama...

 

I remember when the democrats lost control of the congress to the republicans, back in '94 was it?... One of the first things that came out of their big shocked mouths... was, "But... But... You have to work with us!"  Which the republicans did and quickly found they enjoyed spending your money just as much as the democrats did! 

 

Lesson to us Country-Roaders... (There are many of us who aren't Wall-Streeters, or Main-Streeters...) Know what your representatives are doing... and if they aren't doing what you want them to do... vote against them the very next opportunity... Don't forget about it! And pass an email along to let them know of your intentions...

 

Previous entries might note how I feel on Nancy and G.W.'s bill... There's no way I could know if it's really necessary or not... I haven't seen a problem with slowing things down in this global, one-world economy... But since I'm only relatively intelligent... Give me longer than a weekend to assess the situation...

 

I'm a USA first kinda guy... And since I'm a hopeless romantic... I very much like knowing who's screwing me!

 

Plus, I get tickled when our legislators voice their displeasure when the American people get involved and ultimately stop something from being forced through...  I still remember the immigration debacle they've let happen and the remedy last year they tried to shove at us...

 

That didn't work either, Madam Speaker... 

 

We aren't here for your benefit... You're there for ours!

 

Now, ma'am... Go to work and do it right... and by all means let the people you and your colleagues represent, know what you're doing...

 

This advice is free... For any more help, notify my agent, Duke...

 

But promise me one thing, Nancy... If Duke lobbies you to attach earmarks for Purina in this Wall Street Bail-Out plan... Don't fall for it... He's just being greedy by wanting to make sure he has a steady supply of bacon flavored, Beggin Strips...

---

September 29, 2008... note...

Dang... too late to talk about this one... On Saturday, Congress passed a $25,000,000,000 loan to the automakers... And I bet the money is already being funneled out of the country! 

Coming Soon Enough... "American Taxpayers to bail out worldwide automakers to the tune of more billions!"

---

September 26, 2008... Inaugural Live Blog Entry typed during the 1st Presidential Debate... but edited the next morning,  cause BHO and I were angry...

1. First of all BHO... I'm one of the people who you describe as Main Street... And I'm not struggling... I struggled during the Clinton years actually...  I'm glad the Internet business boom happened, thanks to Al Gore... But I didn't do so good...

 

2. I'm not as concerned ,with the CEO's and their salaries and bonuses, nearly as much as I am about you being #2 on the list with having received $126,349 from the banking institutions you are trusted to regulate...  I just blew your cigarette out... but re-light so you can blow some more...  You received about $40,000 less than Christopher Dodd who had a big head start... His total went back to 1989... You're took office January 4, 2005... and have been running for president most of that time...

 

3. These two show just how divided this country is...

 

4. Now is when I can quote Fred Thompson again..., "They're not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket... just the other side of the bucket!"

 

5. That's one angry American-Kenyan... and John has a difficult time even wanting to look at him...

 

6. Big oil companies make my life easier... Big companies period, have made my life easier... but I'm able to live without all of them... however there isn't enough people like me to feed the un-organized communities of this country... and those communities are extremely demanding!

 

7. Rhetoric and key words are just a waste of time... and if you stutter... you sound like you actually said a lot... But John's comment of BHO being the most liberal senator... and it being hard to reach across the isle from that position... is a reasonable opinion... BHO? I sit in the isle... as my test score is in near the very center... It's impossible for you to even reach the isle much less across it!

 

8. Government has to get smaller... Government has to cut back... Government has to accept that this "Global Financial Crisis" isn't our priority... OUR financial crisis is our priority!  And when all heals here... then help others fix theirs...

 

9. I like the Google reporting thingy, BHO... Will I be able to see when Fannie Mae sends you another hundred grand?

 

10. A billion dollars sounds like a lot, doesn't it?  I like the fact where the democrats are on board with G.W.'s bail-out plan... while the republicans are working on a hand-up plan much smaller than G.W.'s, Nancy's and old "No one knows what to do, Harry Reid's!

 

11. Isn't it a wonderful country that will bail out those who failed and I get nothing...

 

12. No... actually I was right about the war in Iraq... It was necessary... and the war was over when the planes landed and the statues fell... But the police action/nation building effort sucks and never needs to happen again... unless it's needed here in this country...

 

13. Please don't forget nearly twice the number of people were murdered in Chicago than were killed in Iraq between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year alone! 

 

14. BHO?  You should have Joe Biden speaking in your earpiece, helping you with this debate...  What am I saying?!?   Joe Biden?  You picked Joe Biden???

 

15. People need to listen to BHO... Damn it!  Listen to him!  He'd appreciate it... when he has something to say... you shut up and listen... got it?

 

16. These guys are 2 of 100 senators... supposedly the elite politicians of America... Wow!  Surely they're not the best!

 

17. BHO... even I know the war on terrorism will never be confined to Afghanistan...

 

18. Deal with the poppy trade?  That's the ticket...

 

19. The moderator is being moderated...

 

20. I wonder what Achmood Armadillojad thinks of BHO, now that he's talked about killing fellow muslims... oh yes... and I'm sure Achmood would enjoy hearing he will have to do what BHO wants...  and then Syria is mentioned... the country where their nuclear facilities were recently bombed and they're still not sure who did it... and whoever did, got by Russia's best defense systems without being detected... And you wonder why Russia, Iran and Venezuela are rattling sabers... That's all they have at the moment...

 

21. I hope someone is designing a seal for John... he's behind on that one... I also hope the seal on the tail of BHO's Boeing 757 peels off easily and doesn't harm the American Flags that I hope are still painted there... It doesn't bother me that he replaced the airline's tail paintings... but a tastefully placed American flag would have been nice to go with his royal seal...

 

22. Ah the grand dame, Madeline Albright.... Wasn't she the one who took a signed Michael Jordan basketball to ole Kim Jong in North Korea as a diplomacy tool...  And while she was there, she had a darn good talk with the little guy... We got nothing out of it... but  ole Kim Jong got a basketball worth a couple hundred dollars out of the deal!  That's basketball diplomacy at it's best!  Maybe BHO'll offer to play ole Kim Jong in a little one on one... and whoever loses must de-nuclear-ize...  But be careful what you bet though, BHO... cause remember... half of you can't jump...

 

23. Calm down John... It's just your old buddy BHO...

 

24. I agree with BHO... I hope Russia calms down and we can all get along... What's wrong with that?... We need to work on more important things like giving churches enough money to have senior citizen centers... and have plenty of money to retire pastors to greener pastures...

 

25. Will these alternative energy plans tell me how big the windmill or solar panel will need to be to run my tractor?

 

26. Call him down again BHO... he's old... I'm sure he didn't hear you that time...

 

27. I would like to see our legislators line up like they do in Britain's Parliament... and heckle each other... This is good stuff!

 

28. You th'man, BHO!  You go out there and make us proud!  You restore our standing in the world... and while you're at it... get a few of them to stand on their own... will ya?

 

29. Don't forget Chicago, BHO... especially the south side... Al Qaeda is there too!  They're everywhere!  It's just difficult to tell who they are, when it's not fair to profile...

 

30. From what I can tell... and have seen... Our good standing in the world only has been evident when America was defending or liberating them... or sending them money or food or the implements of defense...  Otherwise... Orlando has more interest to them than our leadership attempts...  Your church doesn't even like us, dude! 

 

31. Let me guess... The democrats will claim a clear victory for BHO... and the republicans will claim a clear victory for John...

 

Deep breath...  Deep... Hold... Hold... now exhale slowly... and repeat... Deeep Breath... and exhale... There I feel better already!

---

September 25, 2008...

Please don't call me... I need to keep the phone lines clear... I'm expecting my political representatives to call any minute...

 

I sent questions to each of them and asked for direct answers to each... and they're going to get back to me any time now... I'm sure of it...

 

1. Will these hundreds of billions of bank bail-out funds stay in United States? 

2. Since I know of two illegal aliens that are/were multi-homeowners... How has this bad market climate been affected by illegal's benefiting from the community reinvestment act?

3. Two years ago when the warnings were given... Why wasn't it as imperative that we act on it then as now?

4. What's the difference in a government (i.e. you and me) bail-out and the Federal Reserve making loans to these banking institutions directly... The Federal Reserve is pumping billions into foreign banks...  (Which, by the way doesn't make much sense to me... I guess it's we give others money and they loan it back to us...)

5. When will we know if this is working or not?

 

Maybe we need term limits after all... Is there such thing as an anti-incumbent party?...

 

Sorry... I've got to go now... I've got to sit by the phone and wait for my legislators to call...

---

Mother's 79th Birthday...September 23, 2008... edited... work with me people... I was watching Dancing with the stars and trying to keep a thought line on our politicians all at the same time...

Happy Birthday Billie Gray!  Tonight's episode of Dancing with the Stars is for you!

 

Now... While I watch Misty Mae do the Mambo... I'll type about the banking mess... and politicians...

 

I like to see politicians squirm on camera at these banking bail-out hearings... trying to show they're important and impartial... Especially those that have been in the pocket of these banks in question...

 

Politics is similar to software... You used to hear the hackers say, "Bill Gates... Fix your software!" each time they would write a program that breached Microsoft's security... and most everyone thought something was wrong with Windows...

 

I figure any software code can be written to counter another software code... no matter how complicated is... somebody is around that can jump it...

 

BRB... Brook Burke is dancing...

 

Wow!..                                 Gotta go sit on the porch and cool off for a minute...                               Ok... I'm back...

 

Where was I... Software... That's right...

 

Some politicians are calling for more banking regulatory agencies... more laws... more layers of mess...

 

Just like the tax code... There's already layers upon layers upon layers of banking regulations, and there's also just as many paths around them...

 

Many of the sound-bites from these capitol hill hearings focus on the CEO's... and their wages... Which is only more smoke and mirrors...

 

My take of CEO's is simple... It's their job to guide and grow their industries within the laws, whether moral or legal...

 

Ok! Fat Boy's can dance too!  Warren Sapp has my fat boy vote!

 

It's important, if our lawmakers are going to write more laws and regulations... they do so in the very best way... and stay in top of things... If something is wrong or becomes "broken", as they say... I don't want to hear a senator whining about it!  I want them quickly making appropriate corrections! 

 

Our politicians make handsome salaries... get all kinds of perks... have guaranteed golden parachutes... and are part of this banking problem that's costing us $700,000,000,000!

 

Doesn't that make them OUR mean and evil CEO's?

---

September 22, 2008... edited... 

Yesterday was Patrick Family Reunion day... It was good to see the Family members again this year... Lots of little ones... and lots of us older ones still still able to meet...

 

I got  was able to report that I hadn't missed a meal... and Duke hadn't caught that heron at the top of the falls either...

 

This is a time when I remember things Patrick... Big Buicks... Sears Roebuck service caps... White-washed tree bases... Saturday pro wrestling matches... Sunday afternoon naps... A big Thermos... biscuits... and holding my shoulders back...

---

September 20, 2008... edited... 

The jury is still out for me on this bank bail-out thing... I've decided to take one from BHO's playbook and vote, "Present"...

 

Since I've seen our politicians take their oil information from T. Boone's TV commercials... and Harry Reid walk down the hall saying about the banking crisis, "No one knows what to do!"  (Which by the way is a sweet comment from leader Harry.)...  I thought I'd leave the banking problem to the professionals... (joke intended)... and look overseas for a Blog entry...

 

I went to the U. S. Government's Census website... to check the trade deficit numbers with China...

 

Since 1984... and up through the first 6 months of this year... our trade deficit with China is... (insert drum roll here...)

 

$1,745,193,400,000.00   

 

Let's practice writing that on the check line where you have to write it out in words...

 

One trillion, seven hundred and forty-five billion, one hundred and ninety-three million, four hundred thousand dollars... and 00/¢

 

I like the little ¢ symbol... but I don't know if they'll let us use it on the real check we write to China every year...

 

When we talk about transfer of wealth... let's not forget how much we've done for the Chinese...

 

I don't know what they do with all our money... but I'd like to suggest they help our economy some in return...

 

With this much money... They could buy almost 6,000,000 of the new 100' long Tennessee made houseboats like Al Gore owns...

 

Or they could take delivery of 29,000 of the Gulfstream jets on Al Gore's wish list... plus one old used Gulfstream jet like Al Gore uses now...

 

September 16, 2008...

Which came first? The Chicken… the egg… the roost… or the road...?  Think on that one for a minute…

 

It seems President G.W. is a terribly powerful man…

 

His failed policies crashed and closed the Russian Stock Market today…for the first time since Bill Clinton did it in 1998…

 

Who was it that asked for the global economy?  Whose idea was that anyway?

 

I’ve noted I don’t see the downside of a slowing economy…

 

But then I’ve also noted it’s amazing to me how many people live near the seashore, that don’t have but a day’s worth of cigarettes to get them through a storm… I remember one of the storm related deaths last year, I believe it was, in south Florida… where a guy was killed in an auto accident late at night, during the passing of a hurricane, looking for an open store because he was out of smokes…

 

When I first moved to North Georgia, less than 17 years ago… there were three banks in the sleepy little town I live near… and I think one was a credit union…

 

Now there are banks within sight, just about anywhere you are… and more Mexican and Chinese restaurants than banks…

 

Aunt Bessie and Uncle Hughes Easterling, owned and operated Easterling’s Grocery in Eulonia, Georgia… The little store was our family’s “Convenience Store” when I was quite small…

 

There was a shelf where the Sunbeam bread was kept… There was maybe two loaves that didn't sell by the end of the day... and there was maybe a pack or two of hotdog and hamburger buns in stock... A really nice man named Bobby drove the Sunbeam truck… He always had a big smile on his face… and was very nice to us kids… but then everyone was at Aunt Bessie’s… There were also Sunbeam advertisement push-bars on both screen doors in front of the store…

 

Guys that worked in the woods like Mackie Williams and Harold Young would stop by in the mornings and get either BC or Goody’s powders to take with a small bottle of Coke… These were really big men that most of the time... wore well-worn hardhats with the brim all the way around…

 

Uncle Hughes was probably cutting them some bologna and hoop cheese… and wrapping it in brown butcher paper for their lunch while Aunt Bessie added their charges to their account sheets…

 

This is a guess, because I wasn’t paying that much attention… I would have been focused on the colorful candies inside the glass case that sat in the center of the counter… Some were 2 for 1¢ and on up to 10¢... I know... I know... It's been a long time since you've seen the ¢ symbol...

 

It may have been in an old air conditioned red brick elementary school building were you had to stand on steam radiators to open the wavy glass windows that were so big they had cast iron counter-weights built into the casings... The big windows were the air conditioners in the summer and the steam radiators were the air conditioners in the winter...

 

By the way… Many of the same candies are available today at movie theaters for $4 to $6…

 

But I digress…

 

Back to the top… “Which came first?”, I asked… I had fun with the chicken question... But the real question is?

 

Need? or greed?… and who’s responsible?

 

Aunt Bessie and Uncle Hughes are gone, Bless them… and so is the bread shelf, near the bags of flour and rice…

 

Gone are the choice of BC or Goody’s… however I also remember her also having bottles and little tins of Bayer Aspirin for sale…

 

Gone are most of the old woodsmen and their daily menu choices… Along with bologna and cheese, they could choose from Vienna sausages, potted meat or pork & beans which required a P-38, but most sardine cans had a key to get them opened when lunch time came…

 

Gone is the glass candy case and the coke box… I can still feel the cold air spilling out, as I would open the box and stare at the bottom full of Coke bottles, a few Orange Crushes, Dr. Peppers and Mountain Dew’s… And as I would almost be falling in the cold box, Mother would holler to hurry up and shut the lid! 

 

Replacing them are breads of every size and shape… made from ingredients from every corner of the globe… and take up one side of an 80 feet long isle! Many made right in the store!

 

The headache remedies are found in the pharmacy inside the grocery store, 50 yards away from the bread isle, with 300 bottles of varying organic and chemical pills, powders and liquid form headache relievers…

 

If you can't find the pharmacy at first... Look next to the branch bank near the video rental section...

 

After leaving the pharmacy, you can browse the candy department... (which requires many cases of new stock every day and its own inventory clerk)… while on the way to the tiny check-out isle where you knock boxes of bite sized candies onto the floor while maneuvering your cart to the register…

 

At this time, we're not even thinking about discussing the lunch possibilities between the bread isle and the pharmacy… much less the burger and pizza joints and ice cream shops you have to pass, just to get to the grocery store… which is across the street from another set of mega-stores and accompanying fast food enterprises and stand alone drug stores…

 

I’m not sure Harold and Mackie would be impressed… and don't give me this crap about G.W. being responsible...

 

We all are responsible...

---

September 14, 2008... P.M. ...

Let's see if I can make a point without getting in trouble...

 

After seeing the questions surface on the national media today, as to why the drinking water, food and ice are taking so long to make it to the storm area... I felt the need to add to today's Blog entry...

 

Haven't we heard these questions before?  I know it sounds so easy... An ice truck or two show up... a couple of trucks loaded with pop tarts and grits make it past the big oak tree that blew over into the street... And a couple of pickups full of water bottles make it to the beach for the weary storm duty media members...  Easy as that!

 

What?  It's a bigger task than that?      Oh...

 

Even with all the practice we've had... It'll be interesting to see how well the citizens from the storm affected areas were actually prepared to live in such a storm susceptible area...

 

Remember I've pointed out before... I'm not a survivalist... but at the same time I am... kind of...

 

We have hand tools... that don't require gasoline... We have the ability to cook and heat with wood and plenty of old cast iron wares to cook with... We have a fresh water source... We have seed... We have land to grow our own food... We have apparatus to trap and hunt and to defend all of the of the above with...

 

For quite some time... I've been asking for a mule to pull plows with... but for now, I stand in and push the plows...

 

I don't live where I live, so I'll have a way to take care of myself, friends and family in case I have to... but it's a cool side affect, isn't it...

 

If I didn't have the setup I have now... I'd still be thinking... what if?... Maybe it's a country guy thing...

 

Recently, I saw where Costco offers an Emergency Food Supply... It's a 5 gallon bucket with 275 servings of pre-mixed and pre-seasoned vegetarian and vitamin fortified food... and it carries a 20 year shelf life!... for $75...

 

Out in the barn is a dirty on the outside, clean on the inside white 5-gallon bucket with a sealed lid and screw on cap... Written in black magic marker are the words... "Spring Water"...  I've used it many times when I was camping or when I needed a good water supply from our spring...

 

I even have an old Clorox jug with the label removed and similarly marked with "Spring Water" at the office for drinking water and to make coffee and tea with... 

 

You know... I was thinking... If we didn't have enough canned or otherwise preserved foods around here... I'd at least have a couple of  "Emergency  Food Supply" buckets to tie together to use as a raft so I could float to where the government is handing out ice, food, water and housing vouchers...

---

September 14, 2008... A.M. ...

When most think of the seashores... They think of warm sea breezes... bright sunshine... long walks, looking for sand dollars and conch shells... and seafood restaurants that don't serve frozen food from China...

 

Possibly writing words in the sands, as I have done many times and in many places... like Tybee... Jekyll... St. Simon's... and Dameisha Beach...

 

Not many think of the negatives...  Most think how wonderful it would be to live on or near the beach... 

 

I consider it a wonderful place to visit... and Savannah, Georgia, remains my favorite city to visit...

 

First and foremost... My sympathies go out to all those that were in the path of hurricane Ike... I'm glad to see the current death toll is low from this storm that hit Galveston...

 

Hurricanes have dealt a heavy emotional and financial hand to coastal residents as well as those inland... Dr. Kate still has some level of anxiety just watching the news broadcasts forecasting the imposing storms, as she remembers the feelings of recently dealing with such storms... even though she hasn't lived in New Orleans in over a year and a half...  To add to her New Orleans hurricane experiences, she well remembers the hurricane threats as they would be passing up the Georgia coast, when she was a child...

 

My Mom and Dad moved to the Georgia coast in June of 1952... Rebecca and I were born in Savannah... After Savannah, we moved to Waycross and then on to the quiet fishing village of Pine Harbor in McIntosh County, for a year or so before moving a short distance to the location of the old Side Camp on the tram line between the lumber town of Warsaw and Belvedere Island...  This is located between South Newport and Eulonia... So I can speak somewhat of hurricanes because I lived on the Georgia coast for over 36 years...

 

After I married, we resided in Brunswick, and then northern  Glynn County, half way between Brunswick and Darien... My family leased our last coastal house when we moved to North Georgia... and then sold it... However, we had to wait till the lease was up to close on the deal...  A deal that was was to close on Friday, before Andrew hit Florida on Monday, August 24, 1992...  When I arrived in Brunswick, wave after wave of tropical rain was coming through... It would be raining cats and dogs one minute... then the sky would break and the sun would steam that last rainfall... then it would cloud up and rain for a few minutes and start the cycle again... over and over and over...

 

At this time, the cone of possibility for the direct hit, centered on the Georgia coast!  The whole time I was preparing to go for a last clean-up of the house and closing... I kept saying to myself, "Surely the closing would be cancelled!"  

 

Would you buy a house with a storm coming?  I wouldn't think so... But I awoke to no phone call... no notification of re-scheduling, so off to the lawyers office I went...

 

By now the storm path had started to drop further down into Florida... but I think we all see by now, these storms have a mind of their own...  Sometimes they not only turn in one direction or another... they'll stop and go back the way they came!

 

I was at the lawyers office the minimum amount of time to get the deal complete and have a check in my hand... Terribly happy to no longer be a coastal house owner... With baggage already loaded and no cell phone by which to reach me with... I headed North to Savannah, then Northwest to my new home in North Georgia!

 

As far as I was concerned, I had dodged a bullet!  Proper insurance can replace property... if one is smart enough to have such... but it doesn't do much for one's emotional well being...

 

Again, my sympathies to all those affected in Texas and Louisiana, and to those in the middle of the country that will be affected by the remnants of the storm...

---

September 10, 2008...

I've said earlier... that BHO should have hired me as an advisor...  I could have added so much to his campaign... 

 

I'd have picked a much better bikini clad specimen to superimpose Sarah's face on...

 

You can tell it was another one of the democratic cat-fighters that picked the one they used...

 

How do I know?  It's obvious!  A guy would have picked a hottie with an real black rifle... an American made AR-15 or M16...

 

Instead of paying me a simple advisors fee... they gave the project to the girls fresh from the last cat fight...

 

And they picked a pudgy good-old-girl with red, white and blue swim trunks on... that's the main reason I knew it was a girl that worked up the photo...  I can hear her laughing now...

 

The second reason is... after doctoring the photo... they told the press they had a photo of Sarah in a bikini holding an AK-47...

 

I understand why they don't hire me... But I would have thought they would have run this photo by some of the staff on the Chicago south side...  I know those boys know the difference in an AK-47... and the feared black, scoped Crosman BB gun...

 

Come on BHO... hire some real help here... Me and Duke sure could have helped out on this one for sure...

---

September 9, 2008…edited

Let it go sweetie… It’s no big deal… Why just this weekend, I used the exact same phrase in a text to Katie that BHO used today in his rally, "You can put lipstick on a pig… but you’ve still got a pig…”

 

I was referring to a man, Kate and I were talking about… and BHO was referring to Sarah… but like BHO and I say…, “Sweetie"… let it go…

 

The crowd behind him clinched it for me… It’s like the crowd behind Jeremiah Wright… during his countless speeches from the pulpit…

 

You don’t have to play the video of his, “NO! NO! NO! NOT GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!...” (You remember the rest…) to know what I’m referring to…

 

It’s easy to be a good speaker when the crowd is ready to squeal at your dribble…

 

There was no confusion in what the crowd heard… and squealed about…

...

What’s that you say?  Apologize?  For what?

 

Why hell no I’m not apologizing for saying BHO’s crowd squeals!

 

Squealing is a word I use for a loud, approvingly euphoric noise in response to an event…

 

I wasn’t referring to the crowd listening to BHO being pigs…

 

No… That wasn’t it at all…

 

Sweetie?  Get over it!

---

September 7, 2008... edited...

I have enough means to keep Duke comfortable... I paid cash for the truck and the 4-wheeler and the last several guns and bows... 

 

I hunt, fish and cook... and don't owe anything on my credit card... I keep the mortgage up on the river house... and work a full time job...

 

But I'm single!  I'm afraid my political point of view is scaring off the girls!

 

Back on April 11th... I reported taking a test that scared me some... I don't like tests...

 

I thought it was time to see if I had recovered... so late last night, I took the test again... 

 

You don't have to read too far down this Blog to see how I like my politics...  It seems I lean to the right...

 

But when I take the test... and answer all those probing questions... I turn out to be so darn close to the crosshair center I figure I need to advertise it more... 

 

Maybe it'll help prospective girls out there to take a second look if they realize that on the last two tests... I actually crossed the line and joined the liberals!

 

I know... I know... It doesn't run in the family... so I didn't inherit it...  I don't know what the cause is...

 

But to see if it helps my social calendar... I'll post my liberal leaning test results...

 

I use the test at  http://www.politicalcompass.org/

 

Last night's test results... -.25 Liberal... and -.72 Libertarian...

On the April 11th test... I was only -.15 Liberal... 

---

September 6, 2008...

Who's guarding the fort?!

 

Now that BHO's about to become emperor, who's organizing the Chicago south side?!

 

I see in a news article accompanied by a Google map with push pins marking the locations... that during this summer alone... Chicago has had roughly twice the number of murders than soldiers deaths in an actual war in Iraq!

 

Let's say that together... This summer alone... Chicago has had TWICE the number of murders than soldier deaths in a WAR!

 

And we're not even counting the number of deaths by New Orleans refugees while they're scattered across the country escaping another storm!  And definitely not the death count in New Orleans itself, this summer...

 

I'm sure that perky little Katie Couric leads off her broadcast every night with that chin of hers held low... and her young boy voice speaking low... while she reports the number of people that were murdered in Chicago...are TWICE as many as in Iraq this summer alone! 

 

Ok... probably not...

 

Oh yes... one note to those who see the Google map... Zoom way in, cause in order to actually see the map, you'll have to zoom in... otherwise there's so many pins, they block the map... You can still see the lake... but there's so many push pins marking the deaths, the city is just a blur...

 

I've been amazed by the war death count reporting by the well-meaning, honest, accurate, we just report the facts ma'am, media...  I'm fairly certain the war deaths are accurately counted...

 

However if truth were actually reported... The number of crime related deaths on the south side of Chicago that are never even discovered are more than our war death count...

 

So... Who's organizing guarding the community fort I ask?

 

Oh...

 

BHO has been?  In that case!  Good job there sir! 

 

When will your  book on "How I Organized Chicago And Lived To Tell About It" gonna hit the stores?

---

 September 5, 2008... edited...

I'm guessing the democratic women are too confused to have a strategy other than CAT FIGHT!!!  I'm expecting a YouTube video any day now of wig pulling, spitting and hissing...

 

However... maybe they'll settle down long enough to think things through for themselves and stop listening to those old white haired fat white democratic men running the show...

 

If they were smart... (which has been called into question lately...) They'd help elect John and Sarah...

 

John would serve for four years... and retire... Then Sarah would run against hillery... and guarantee a woman president...

 

But... I'm not sure if they'll figure that out in time...

 

I'll just sit back and watch them elect an American - Kenyan that refers to women as, "Sweetie", and Joe Biden... Bless his heart...

 

Then we'll have another crop of male senators run for office in the next several elections... while they have the female pundits cat fight in front of the TV cameras...

 

Maybe I'm wrong... Maybe it's just not time for a woman to run the show after all...

 

I'm very disappointed...

---

September 4, 2008... edited...

Thank goodness for SEC football! I think I'm gonna pull for Vandy tonight...

 

I like it when the old ball coach throws his visor...  It reminds me of some of the democratic pundits pitching a hissie...

---

September 3, 2008…Due to be edited at any time... This will be ongoing!

(In the Illinois state legislature) Barack voted “present”, 132 times… because deciding between yes and no was too tough… To be President of the United States, it’s not good enough to be “present”… Rudy Giuliani…

 

Change is not a strategy just as hope is not a destination! Rudy Giuliani…

 

Gloria Steinem… I’m much different than you and I’m thanking God the only thing Sarah has in common with hillery is one chromosome!

 

I’d like my readers to keep in mind when Sarah starts giving repetitive speeches about corkscrewing into Bosnia and ducking and running from sniper fire… Then I’ll realize she’s also lost it!

 

Why is it whenever I say Barack Obama… I say it like preacher Pfleger says it… BAAARRAAACKKK O…BAMAAAAA!... from his famous hillery is entitled speech?

 

Why is it that only certain people of color are included in the struggle… and only certain women are included in their cause… only if they're lefty-liberal enough… Otherwise… you’re an uncle tom or just like George Bush…

 

And speaking of George Bush… Democrats? Keep trying… I promise it’s possible to beat him this time…

 

The weak female democrat spokesperson’s rebuttal to Sarah’s speech last night was… "...it’s just more of the Republican rhetoric."  "…sounds just like George Bush!"

 

That was weaker than your response last week when Sarah was first introduced last week… when the democratic pundits said that crap about being from a small town…  You would be smarter if you were from a small town instead of dodging bullets on the Chicago south side!

 

I don’t know Barack or Joe personally… I just know them by way of different media outlets… and I don’t like what I know or see… They can’t in any way represent me… and after the lessons I've received from the democrats… It’s ok to say anything I want and snicker the whole time!

---

September 2, 2008...

The question was asked, "What if they find a girls-gone-wild video of Sarah Palin?"

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, even if they find a GGW video of Sarah Palin, she's still got my vote...

 

I have reasons to vote for her... I've found absolutely no reason to vote for BHO/Biden...

 

None... Zip! Zilch! Nada! Not one iota!

 

But democrats... let me know if you find that GGW video... Maybe you can play it at the same time as the "shoe dropper" video starring Michelle O...

...Richard's Roamings...

1. I see where Congress's approval rating is almost up to 18%... not quite... but almost!  These are our lawmakers people!

2. Why is it I hear almost every day... one of our congress people quote T. Boone Pickens... Do they get their information from TV commercials?

3. When are the battery powered transfer trucks and farm tractors going to hit the market...

4. Let's be kinder to our oil companies... We need them and their oil!  Without them, the Chinese won't have plastics to make all of life's essential gadgets we buy at the big blue box store on the edge of town...

5. I don't know about you, but I'm not buying gold... I'm investing in Planet Jr. garden plows... They'll one day be worth more than gold...

6. Sarah was the mayor of a small town of approximately 9,000 people... and Joe Biden ran for president and got approximately 9,000 votes nation-wide... which factor should I find most credible...

7. Jimmy Carter and Nancy Pelosi have something in common...

8. Jackie Broyles and I have something in common...

9. Be careful who you apologize to...

10. Don't worry... You won't be taxed... just the rich will be... So, as long as you don't have to buy food, clothes, fuel or anything at the big blue box store on the south side of town... you won't feel the tax increases on the rich... Do they really expect me and Fred Thompson to believe that crap?

11. It's important for the company that employs me...to make a lot of money... Very important... I'm still yet to be hired by a poor person...

12. This is not a "best of two evils" presidential choice...

13. Be careful what you ask for...

---

August 29, 2008... 2...

I'm astonished at the Democratic party's reaction to Sarah Palin!

 

The same group that offered me no option at all... I've not been given one reason to consider voting for even one of their candidates...

 

In my opinion, with all the negatives that BHO brings to the table... I can't understand why they sent their female spokespersons out to try and knock down this candidate...

 

It's sad... I guess they're antipathetic because she isn't like them... She's not a lawyer... She's bright... successful... a mother... a volunteer... a politician... a sportsman in many ways...

 

If I understand their arguments correctly... John should have picked another old, white, long time senator... The democrats apparently would be good with that...

 

They're gonna have to come with more than they did today to sway my opinion...

---

August 29, 2008...

OMG!

 

For the first time in my adult life… I am proud of John McCain!

 

Hope arrived today in Dayton, Ohio…  Who along with her family… was flown to Dayton aboard a Gulfstream jet that should be named… “The Envy of Al Gore!”

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m the founding member of a small group of proud Americans… T.R.I.C.T.A!  As an officer of TRICTA, I'm bound to maintain relative intelligence, think clearly and be a by-God American!

 

I'm not a globalist or a racist!

 

I have stayed independent and refused to be misled…

 

I have however been lied to…

 

I have practiced my advice to others and thought and acted according to my conscience…

 

I’m proud to have previously supported a woman seeking the American Presidency… and am proud to do it again...

 

I did not vote for or support John McCain in the primary… I’m conservative! 

 

However...

 

Today, I was invited to attend a luncheon at a local eatery (with a big screen TV) by a small group of likeminded individuals… some of them might even cling to their guns and bibles… I wouldn’t know… But I’d be pleased if they did…

 

I don't mind my association with such individuals...

 

At this luncheon… by way of the big screen… I was introduced to the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin… whom I knew just a little about… But with this introduction… my first impressions went off the charts!

 

I understood what she said… I agreed with her… and I can see she was a complete package!

 

It’ll take an amazing amount of dredged up negatives to bring her down to the level of her competition!

 

Just seconds after she ended her speech with, “And God bless America!”  I received a text message from another TRICTA official… that said, “No! No! No! Not God bless America!”

 

I couldn’t have said it better myself! 

 

I certainly hope there are more clear thinkers out there than Kool-Aid drinkers!

 

So... now we have three Senators and a Governor in the race…

 

As I do the math… John and Joe easily cancel each other out… which brings my choice down to BHO and Sarah…

 

And my selection is Sarah!

 

Now! She has the real hope I can believe in!

---

August 28, 2008... edited...

I’ve been standing in the yard much of the evenings this week… Well Duke has too…

 

The katydids are about cycled out… leaving the frogs and crickets to serenade us…

 

It’s been nice and cool…

 

Thank the Good Lord for the recent rains… Washblue had gotten down to the lowest level seen by anyone we know…

 

But then nobody is living today that saw Washblue during the 1714-1715 drought… and I understand Georgia was having a terrible time along about the time George Washington died… as 1797-1802 was awful dry…

 

Dad was born in 1927… near the end of a bad drought that started in 1925… and he can tell you stories of fighting forest fires on the Georgia Coast in the 1950’s… when it was very dry… most of the fires went out when they had burned everything there was to burn…

 

I’m not really sure what caused these historical droughts… I don’t expect it was pollution like the unprecedented levels we now see in China… or the massive fossil fuel debacle… darn those internal combustion engines...

 

And it wasn’t the cutting of forests to build the massive number of cracker box housing developments, cause those droughts were before all that… and it wouldn’t matter if it was the cause, because we’ve got to keep building so all the immigrants coming here will have their own American dream home!

 

It couldn’t have been the palaces being built in the Middle East… They’re mostly Italian marble… and besides… They’re offsetting their ecological impact by planting grass in the deserts there so their children can play on lush golf courses instead of hot sand…

 

I wonder what it'd be like today if the internal combustion engine had never been invented... I guess all those cracker box houses would have 2 horse stables instead of garages...

 

And there'd be hitching posts at the outer edges of the grocery store parking lot where people would tie up their horses and oxen for sale to the illegal aliens...

 

Gotta stop typing now... There's lightning bugs to watch...

---

April 19, 2008...

Which came first?  The rise in the price of crops or the rise in price of oil?

 

About two years we started buying corn to feed the critters... You could buy shelled corn for about $4 when we first started...

 

Now it's almost doubled... As an excuse, they say corn is being diverted to fuel use which brings more money than food grain or feed grain... 

 

The only sack of corn we have now, is the one Gray and I found on the highway that had fallen off the back of someone's truck...  I saw it and turned around so fast!  It was like finding dollar bills on the highway!

 

I hear it takes a lot of petroleum to produce fuel from corn... But then we are told all kinds of things...

 

C.R.P... Ever heard of it?  It's the Conservation Reserve Program...  Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture...

 

You can read about it on their website... It's where we pay land owners to own land...  I first heard the phrase CRP from a guy who's farmland was used as a hunting preserve... He planted crops that attracted birds... then he charged hunters a hefty fee to hunt on his farm...

 

He harvests the crops, and the government pays him a little sumpin'-sumpin' for his land too...

 

It's similar to the immigration system... It's broken they say... Who's going to check to see if he's selling the crops from the land the government... (i.e. YOU) is renting from him to keep under C.R.P.

 

In an MSNBC article this week, they reported on terrorist groups using food... I heard that years ago...

 

There's a sinister reason to keep the masses of people under their thumbs... People are beholding to those who feed them.

 

I've been speaking of Haiti recently... and today I read where President Hugo Chavez has pledged more than 350 tons of food to Haiti... This is the same man who offers low price oil to the poor of the United States... 

 

I still see nothing that will give a nation like Haiti enough rope to pull itself out of the ditch... Just enough food to feed their poor masses for a very short period of time

 

I think I'm going to go wash up and watch a movie before bedtime... Gangs of New York will be my choice...

 

It shows how this country controlled things like food in the past... Maybe I can learn something from it...

---

April 18, 2008...

OMG! OMG! OMG!!!

 

Tonight... Ellijay, was treated to world class music... and I was there to listen...

 

Mountain Heart... with a couple of new faces... played to a packed house at a school auditorium...

 

As if that's not about as good as it gets... their second set brought out a star...

 

Tony Rice played with the boys of Mountain Heart for an hour and a half... and it was truly incredible...

 

What talent... What great music... That a treat!

---

April 14, 2008... edited...

Should great communicators and diplomats need to constantly explain how a volatile statement they made was taken out of context... and then keep trying over and over to spin it until it's forgotten...

 

Maybe achmood'll understand correctly during the first negotiation...

---

April 13, 2008... edited

From what I see on the History Channel about gang activity on the south side of Chicago... The area that Barack worked as a "community organizer"... is in terrible shape!

 

Maybe he needs to focus on that community again... and not worry about those God fearing, gun owners in Pennsylvania...

 

Obama wants to equalize the nation... But if he doesn't mind... I don't want my community to even come close to the being equal to his southside community...

---

April 11,2008... edited...

Ok... Work with me here... Let me slide some...

 

I've been periodically taking one of the Internet tests to check my political position... In this Blog, I've spoken about being very near the center of the political grid... Very near...

 

But... on the last test... I crossed the line...  I've gone to the other side...

 

My latest results put me .15 points to the left of center...  I know... I know...  But being -0.15 doesn't seem terminal...

 

It's just a test...  ( I keep saying to myself...)

 

But in the real world where it counts... I couldn't be further opposite from Barack!  From just about every angle...

 

When I find something we have in common... I report it...  But I'm afraid it's not going to happen...

---

April 10, 2008... edited...

I'm so glad Jimmy Carter is going to talk with Khaled Meshal.

 

I think we need this experience to learn the sit down and surrender technique from an old pro...

 

I hope they make a home movie... in a tent in the desert... with a few Kalashnikovs leaning against the back canvas flap...

 

Maybe Jimmy'll have a cool looking character standing behind him like achmood has in a lot of his photos...

 

You know the kind... a guy with a dark beard wearing a Maytag repairman hat and cool looking green aviators ...

---

April 8, 2008... edited...

Lately I've been writing about large numbers...  about stacks of gold... and lots of zeros behind numbers and dollar signs...

 

To be fair, I also need to write about some small numbers...

 

There are lots of small print stories between bold type sensational stories like... Hugo Chavez Censors The Simpsons... and... Baby Polar Bear Cub Makes Splash!

 

Some small print stories I picked up on tonight made reference to the price of rice going up 50% last month and doubling since the first of the year...

 

With little comments about people living on $2 a day being the international poverty line... and places like Egypt having 76 million people... and about 28 million of them living on less than $2 a day...

 

For some reason, I didn't think Egypt had that problem...

 

Then there's the turmoil In Haiti right now, where citizens are rioting over the rising cost of living...  Of the nearly 9 million residents, over 7 million of them live below the international poverty level.  Yet it ranks 146th of 177 least developed nations by the U. N. ... Meaning there's some 31 countries worse off than Haiti...

 

In the Philippines... dealers are being warned they could face life in prison if caught hoarding rice while waiting for prices to rise...  I guess Chicago's futures traders wouldn't last long there...

 

Oh yes... The U.N. mission of 9,000 peacekeepers in Haiti since 2004... costs approximately $1,500,000 a day... 

 

That's enough for tonight... It's late... I need to turn off the TV and go to bed... It's not very interesting... They're talking about people who are currently training in preparation to colonize Mars...

---

April 3, 2008...

 

I'm still subsidizing tonight...

 

An agricultural subsidy is paid to farmers and farm businesses as supplemental income... The farm subsidy laws not only provide guaranteed income, but manage the crop supply and influence their costs...

 

There are federal laws that provide subsidies to certain commodities... 25 or so different crops...  This has happened since the early 1930's...

 

In the early 30's... approximately 25% of America's population lived on the 6,000,000 or so small farms... By 1997, over 150,000 large farms made over 70% of all farm production... and only 2% of the U.S. population live on farms...

 

There was a good reason to get involved in the '30's... and as it goes with all our governmental programs... the thing exploded to this...

 

In the report by the Congressional Budget Office on H.R. 2419: Food and Energy Security Act 2007 which is known as the "Farm Bill"... the CBO estimates by enacting H.R. 2419 the USDA would spend some $286,000,000,000 between 2008 and 20012... and $614,000,000,000 between 2008 and 2017...

 

As you scan down the pages... things like "$600,000,000 in income security caught my eye...

 

See why Duke wants a piece of the action? 

 

When you have tons of time and are at your sharpest, you can read the CBO's cost estimate for H.R. 2419... Link...

 

Also... please know the Federals averaged a daily tax income of $71,795,830.14 on the average 2007 daily use of 390,194,729 gallons of gasoline per day in the U.S. ... and some $26,205,478,001.10 for the year...

 

Give or take a few hundred million $$$...

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April 2,2008...

Government subsidies!  Who needs them?

 

We heard about government subsidies this week as our congressmen were grilling top oil company executives…

I’m not fond of subsidies… such as…

 

CNN/Money reported on May 24, 2004 that Wal-Mart had been aided with $1,000,000,000 in government subsidies to assist in their expansion…

 

Washington Post staff writers Dan Morgan, Gilbert M. Gaul and Sarah Cohen wrote in the Sunday paper of July 2, 2006… “Nationwide, the federal government has paid at least $1,300,000,000 in subsidies for rice and other crops since 2000 to individuals who do no farming at all…”

 

President Bush has requested $550,000,000 for the first phase of the Merida Initiative…  A total is purported to be $1,400,000,000… The Merida Initiative is a multi-year plan to pay for programs in Mexico and Central America to fight drug trafficking and other transnational crime… 

 

It probably won’t affect illegal immigration, since it doesn’t appear to be a crime… 

 

In a commercial running now for a large soft drink company, there are two guys talking to a lawyer trying to get an angle on how to sue their own company… It’s really kinda funny… The lawyer doesn’t understand what they’re getting at… and finally says he’s an immigration lawyer and usually deals with families…

 

Dealing with “families” is such a noble thing… Helping illegals doesn’t sound as honorable…

 

Meanwhile… back to subsidizing… Duke feels a need to get on the bandwagon… He wants his share of the action…

 

Recently we announced we were entering the “Energy Credit” finance business… remember if you will my Blog entry of March 5th…

 

He thinks we need to expand to border fence building and rice farming… and now he proposes the new business to be called… Duke’s Energy Credit, Security Fencing & Farm Initiative.

 

Please contact us later because he hasn't decided if we should sell franchises or just work it through a pyramid scheme… 

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March 31, 2008...

At the latest meeting of TRICTA... It was determined that we may have a new slate of candidates later this summer in the national presidential race... 

 

Most of those at the center of attention are spinning so fast they're likely to screw themselves into the ground at any moment!

 

Why are the democrats so mad?  The democratic pundits I've seen tonight are just plain angry!

 

I understand they don't want to cover up so much turmoil... But then I don't think John McCain was the top pick for the other side just a few months ago...

 

Thank goodness for the boys of summer getting back to work!  Duke and I are glad to have something else to watch!

 

Politics, these days, are like my old soap opera watching days... I'm pretty sure, I can tune in once a week and not miss a thing...

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March 25,2008...

I added the numbers trivia notes to the top of this site where they'll stay for a while... 

 

The next time you hear a large number that was said for shock value... realize just how big our country is... Notes like those above are endless...

 

If you want to know just how small you really are... Try to contact a politician... That'll put things in perspective...

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March 22, 2008...

What a beautiful day!  With the politics of late being in a terrible spin... It was time for a break...

 

Ben and I were in the pasture about 6 this morning, watching the Worm Moon low in the western sky... It was magnificent!

 

Friday evening I sat up at Jas Hill for a few moments watching the Worm Moon rise... I first started watching from Jas Hill some 6 years ago during the Hunter's Moon... But that's another story...

 

The Worm Moon is the Full Moon in March...The earth is warming and earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins.

 

To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.

 

To me... it was another example of an amazing creation we should stop to enjoy...

 

After the Worm Moon set... we went on to be totally ignored by a stupid gobbler... I don't want to talk about it...

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March 20, 2008...

 

This might be against the law... But what the heck... They can sue me...

 

In case you didn't go to Google today... Here's their logo...  I liked it...  In between all the political spin today was a bit of spring...

 

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March 18, 2008... edited...

 

Most Americans… Americans-in-waiting and illegal's were hard at work today while there was a major speech given on race today by Barack Obama…

 

As I was one of the working Americans, I figured I’d read his entire speech on the Internet… I didn’t want to only listen to sound bites on the evening news…

 

Sorry… I couldn’t make it through it… I was expecting something memorable… 

 

I’m sure he delivered it with presidential quality speech… And I’m assuming his writer did his homework copying text trying to spin the nation’s attention back to something else other than his details...

 

Did he orchestrate any fainting spells and their rescue efforts…?  I ask because, remember… I wasn’t there… I was at work…

 

The feeling I had as I tried to read... was it was similar to me listening to Hannity and Colmes… There's a lot of words, but I'm not getting out of it what others might be...

 

I’m sure everyone now understands the race problems in our country and we can step up and and correct the ways of the evil one…

 

Since I failed with Barack's speech...I tested my ability to stay on task…

 

That’s when I went to Cynthia Tucker’s page on the Atlanta Journal Constitution website… She’s the editor of the opinion section…

 

Now Cynthia, as a writer, and I, as a reader… go back a ways… She writes and I can’t read what she writes… 

 

Well let’s say, to be fair… I’ve tried to read her opinions… But as I try to read her columns… I laugh that I had tried again to see if she’d mellowed any…

 

Her picture on her AJC Opinion page… shows she’s must always be pissed off…

 

It must have been Barack's speech... because today  I was able to read every single word of Cynthia’s opinion column…

 

Actually I read it twice!  And here's what I got out of her article... 

 

She has the same problems I have when I write…

 

I wonder… I wander… and I don’t write complete thoughts… But Cynthia has an editor’s staff… I have Duke…

 

Cynthia and Barack need a better team of writers…

 

I’ll check Duke’s schedule and see if he can spare some time to help them out…

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