Monday, June 30, 2008

Patriotic

From Barack Obama:
“Surely we can agree that no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism.”

From Darleen at Protein Wisdom:
"Surely, I can disagree.

Surely, I can state categorically that any political philosophy that has as its core value some variation of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” is antithetical to American values and, therefore, unpatriotic.

Surely, I can state categorically that any political philosophy makes the “world’s” feelings a priority over American interests or sovereignty is antithetical to American values or survival and, therefore, unpatriotic.

Because dissent, especially from O! Enlightenment, is patriotic."

Tall Grass and Sunset


Sunday, June 29, 2008

Tonight's Sunset


via Theo Spark

A Fire In The Neighborhood

Last night just before midnight my teenage son and daughter were on the roof of the barn (a perfectly normal place for teens to be on a summer night). All of a sudden they saw a huge burst of fire. They used the cell phone to call my wife, Colleen. Colleen called the fire department. The first of a half-dozen fire trucks were on the scene in just a few minutes.

The teens then ran to the house and helped us get all eight children in the van in less than five minutes. Colleen had the van out of the property onto the road in less than five minutes. I walked down to the blaze, which was about five houses north of us (about one-half mile). Thank God there was no wind. There is almost always at least a breeze, but last night it was completely still.

By the time I started snapping pictures, the blaze was already under control. The photos are in the order I took them.

The ground here is incredibly dry. Last year when we moved here at this time of year, the weeds and grasses were waist high. This year you can walk anywhere with flipflops or sandals, and not worry about getting grass burrs stuck on your feet.

Our good friend who owns the alpacas lives across the road from where the fire was burning. She told us the house has been vacant for two weeks. She strongly suspects that the house was a meth house. There were large numbers of cars coming and going at all hours of the night, when people lived there. That is pretty unusual for such a remote, rural area, wouldn't you think?

The structure that burned was adjacent, but not connected to the house. The house was saved by the firemen. God bless them.





UPDATE! It was an entire house that burned, not a separate structure. Today I drove by the scene, and this is what I saw.

The kids and Colleen walked down to the site. The kids got to board the fire truck. An investigator was there to determine the cause. He was waiting for a court order, before entering the premises.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Three Views of Tonight's Sunset



Just Do It

Frank J. at IMAO has got an idea of how to help us with our energy crisis.
"Here's an idea to solve the debate about drilling in ANWR: Just go ahead and do it and don't tell anyone about it. What's the likelihood of anyone venturing up to the northernmost reaches of that wasteland and noticing?"

Obama's Birth Certificate

Are you familiar with the controversy surrounding Obama's birth certificate? The one his campaign released on the internet recently has no signature and no embossed seal. Those are required by Hawaii. This controversy will not go away until Obama produes a birth certificate that has the embossed seal and a signature. He can get one for ten bucks.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Barack Obama's Life and Beliefs

At the suggestion of my good blogging friend QP at the quipTorum, I have been reading an exhaustive, informative website chronicling the life and times of Barack Obama. The website is DISCOVERTHENETWORKS.ORG. The more I read, the sicker-to-my-stomach I became.
Update: Geckofeeder has more information about Obama's connections with Syrians and Iraqies.

Gallup's Latest Findings


Here is a graph showing how Americans view various aspects of our lives in 2008, according to Gallup.
Via Daniel Henninger in The Wall Street Journal

"He's their dream guy and they don't want to wake up."

So says Betsy Newmark in her analysis of Obama's flip-flopping on issue after issue. Betsy points out that the media is giving and will continue to give Obama a free ride. According to Howard Kurtz, none of the major papers has anything today about Obama's 180 degree flip-flop on the issue of the individual American's right to bear arms. Just last November Obama told the Chicago Tribune he thought the D.C. gun ban was constitutional. Now, he agrees with the Supreme Court in ruling that the ban was unconstitutional.

The guy is reputed to be a good basketball player. I believe that gives us the best idiom to understand what he is now doing. He was driving down the left lane, now he is pivoting, and smoothly moving to the center of the court. It will be up to us to play good defense, steal the ball away from him, and block his shots.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Learning To Drive

Today I took my son to apply for a job. Well, actually, he drove. He has his learner's permit, and wanted to drive my car, which is a stick shift, as opposed to mom's van, which he has been driving (or, more accurately, steering). He did very well, for the most part. We just have to work on staying in our lane when turning, and putting the brake on when we park in neutral at the super market. Oh yes, we need to try real hard not to grind the gears when shifting.

I was not as good of a driving instructor as Bob Newhart is in this audio performance.

Via Theo Spark

A Congressman of the United States Shockingly Rooting For al Qaeda

This is one you just have to see to believe. Democrat Congressman Jim Delahunt of Massachusets is interrogating Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, David Addington. Congressman Delahunt expresses delight that al Qaeda will be watching the proceedings on CSPAN, given Mr. Addington's "penchant for being unobtusive."

Via The Power Line blog

My Favorite Tree

You Want Beauty? I Got Beauty.

Last Night's Sunset

Who Are the Kooks?

The U.N. Human Rights Council has banned any criticism of Islam. The Fausta blog reports
"This means that any crimes committed by Islamists can not be addressed by the UN's HRC. The Organization of Islamic Countries is the largest voting block at the UN."

When I lived in Texas in the 1960s, I used to see billboards everywhere saying "Get The U.S. Out of the U.N." They were put up by the John Birch Society. I thought they were kooks. Now, I'm not so sure. Are the Birchers the kooks, or are the rest of us who allow our elected officials to tax us and use our money to fund sham organizations like the U.N. Human Rights Council?

Where The Democrats" Money Is Coming From

In my opinion, few political pundits on the current scene can write like Ann Coulter. This morning in my email I found this gem by Ann, which I will partially quote here.
"Do you know which special interest has given more money to the Obama and Clinton campaigns than any other?

If you guessed "trial lawyers" -- well, okay, that's too easy. But can you guess which special interest came in second?

Labor unions? Nope. The Green Lobby? Nope. AARP? Wrong, again. NEA? Nyet.

Give up? Okay, here's the answer: Wall Street.

That's right. According to CNNMoney.com, Wall Street securities and investment firms have given over $35 million to Democratic candidates this election cycle. And the amount they've given to the Clinton and Obama campaigns is nearly five times the amount they've given to McCain.

If you've been wondering why the financial industry has been in meltdown -- and taking your 401(k) or investment portfolio down with it -- now you know.

Let's face it: The former frat boys who populate Wall Street today understand economics about as well as the pinko professors whose courses they snored through.

That's why betting their entire industry on "subprime" loans to people with no jobs and no collateral made sense to them -- and why betting the entire U.S. economy on the likes of Hillary and Obama makes sense to them now."

Thursday, June 26, 2008

"I’m supporting the more youthful McCain who is able to hold two energy ideas in his head at the same time."

That is the summary statement of Roger Simon today in his discussion of the energy plans of the two major presidential candidates. Obama seems only able to consider alternative fuels, while McCain seems able to see a more complex arena of possibilities. Simon also refers to Obama as a "disingenuous creep," which although seems a bit rough, may actually prove to be correct, as this chameleon dances around and around issue after issue.

"It is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.”

The U.S. Supreme court today held that individual Americans have the right under the Second Amendment to own and bear arms to defend ourselves in our homes. The vote was five to four. The four justices Obama likes were dissenters. This close vote, alone, is reason for freedom-loving Americans to work for the election of John McCain.

Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick

Our city girl, Sara, is always on the lookout for grasshoppers, spiders, and other menacing creatures of the earth. This morning she found this baby squirrel, about three inches long, lying on its back in a pile of pine needles. We all came running, when Sara screamed. I got a stick and turned the little fellow onto his legs. Seconds later we found his brother and sister, who God nicely camouflaged to fit into their new surroundings. No mama anywhere to be seen.



Wednesday, June 25, 2008

An Effective Response

Last week Moveon.org spent $500,000 on an ad featuring a mom telling John McCain that he could not have her baby for his 100 year war against terrorism. Today in this video Ania Eglund thanked John McCain for his leadership and said she hoped one day her sons would want to volunteer to protect this great nation.

Via Hot Air

Something I Dreamed About When I was a Boy

When I got home tonight, there was my eight-year-old son on his horse in the front yard. How cool is that?

Here We Call That Pedophilia

MEMRI has a t.v. clip from a Saudi "marriage officiant," Dr. Ahmad Al-Mub'i. He explains that the model "we follow" is the Prophet Muhammed, and "Muhammed married Aisha when she was six and had sex with her when she was nine." Yeah, nine is a good age. Muhammed showed great restraint.

A Man Who Says What He Thinks


Kudos to Dr. James Dobson, who is an equal opportunity blaster of presidential candidates. He does not like the way Obama supports killing babies, and he wants McCain to be more of a leader in speaking up for the institution of marriage. It doesn't win him any friends in the media, but I don't think he cares. Dr. Dobson’s internationally syndicated radio program is heard daily on more than 3,000 radio stations across North America. It also airs in 27 languages in more than 160 countries. I believe that is more than five times the number of stations that carry Rush Limbaugh's number one rated talk show in America.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Correlation?


Via Theo Spark

Tonight's Sunset


Excellence in Broadcasting

I suppose many liberals will agree with the sentiments of this cartoonist from the Kansas City Star. The fact is that Rush Limbaugh and Tim Russert respected each other. I heard an interview Rush conducted with Tim about his book about growing up in a blue collar family in Buffalo, New York. It was a marvelously respectful and amiable interview. This cartoonist is as far from the spirit of Tim Russert as he could possibly be. I for one am glad that God has seen fit to allow Rush to continue his Excellence in Broadcasting.
Via Kathyrn Jean Lopez at The Corner

The Tortoise and the Hare

Victor Davis Hansen is comparing McCain to the tortoise and Obama to the Hare. McCain plods along, but is beginning to endorse positions that are popular with the Republican base. Obama dashes here and there, but now seems to be backtracking a lot on previously announced far left plans for his presidency. The question, Hansen notes, is how far along in the race are they? Does McCain have a chance to catch up and pass Obama?

Out and About

This is the top of the four tier rock garden on the east side of the house.

I am about one month early is starting the gardens this year, compared to last year, because we did not move in until July 2007. This is the south side.

Yes, we humans are strange creatures.

This alpaca is the biggest one of the eight males. He is also the friendliest toward humans, and the first one to come over and talk to me.

The alpacas and horses are getting to know each other.

Around here the priority for landscaping is plants (trees and flowers). This is probably some horrible weed, but it surely has some nice blooms.

I Never Thought She Could Be Muzzled


Popular radio talk show host Laura Ingraham has been off the air now for at least two weeks, with no explanation. Her attorney said that she has been barred from her Washington studio as a tactic in contract negotiations, which have hit a snag. Who is the man who did this? His name is Mark Masters, who is the chief executive of Talk Radio Network. Her five-year contract ends in September. It has a confidentiality clause that bars her from commenting. Laura is number five in popularity among radio talk show hosts. Numbers one through four are Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Laura Schlessinger.

I miss her, but Monica Crowley has done a very good job filling in for Laura. Monica is on to Barack Obama, big time. She has done a great job documenting his opportunistic position changes, which occur at least weekly.

The photo above was taken by Washington Post photographer Rich Lipski, and the facts about Laura presented above were taken from a Washington Post article by Howard Kurtz.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Sadr City Weapons Cache

This photo is of weapons seized by the Iraqi Army at Sadr City.

Via Last of the Few

Who is Introducing the Race Card?


Obama has introduced the race card into his presidential campaign against John McCain. Yes, the John McCain who recntly had the courage to criticize the South Carolina Republican Party for running race-based ads. I agree with this statement by blogger Sister Toldjah.
"In the case of Obama, the use of the race card most of the time has been subtle, but in the end when you’ve ended up dividing your party, in part, over the use of it, and further dividing the country, whether or not your race card playing has been overt or subtle really makes no difference. The end result is the same."

There is absolutely no evidence that John McCain would allow anyone on his side to use the race card. None.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Adventures in the Goat Pen

It will be dark here in a few minutes. There are dark clouds, but not menacing ones. My sons, 6 and 8, are still outside playing in the goat pen, along with three-year-old Linebacker Dude. They have been playing there for hours. I love hearing their happy voices. I do my gardening early in the morning and late in the evening. It is just so great to know the boys are able to play outside to their hearts' content, just like I did when I was a boy. No parental supervision needed, thank you.

I did wish I had my camera, though, because I saw several moments that someone should have captured on video. One of the best one was when a goat got out of the pen and the boys chased and chased her, roped her, then she dragged them down the hill back to the goat pen.

Answering Smears With Facts



Perhaps one of the most intensely competitve U.S. Senate races in America this year is the one in Colorado between conservative former Congressman Bob Schaffer (photo on the right) and liberal current Congressman Mark Udahl (photo on the left). Conservative blogger Rossputin has been doing a wonderful job countering liberal hit jobs against Schaffer. It is nice to know we have someone bright enough and diligent enough to answer smears with facts.

Update: Rossputin has asked me to identify him as libertarian or fiscally conservative, rather than conservative. I just did.

Where is America?

If these are the cycles of democracy, which cycle do you think we are now in?
1) From Bondage to spiritual faith;
2) From spiritual faith to great courage;
3) From courage to liberty;
4) From liberty to abundance;
5) From abundance to complacency;
6) From complacency to apathy;
7) From apathy to dependence;
8) From dependence back into bondage.

In reading the excellent Colorado blogger Rossputin, today I followed a link to another blog called The Shot, to read an article by Casen Gregg. Gregg cites Eighteenth Century writer and lawyer, Alexander Tytler, who believed that democracies go through the cycles listed above. Gregg makes the case that we are now in cycle number eight.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Confidence

The Gallup poll is out with its findings of which institutions Americans have the most confidence in and which ones we have the least confidence in. The most? The military, with 71%. The least? Nancy Pelosi's Democrat-controlled Congress, with 12%.
Via JammieWearingFool

"Ballgirl" Makes Incredible Catch


Via Last of the Few

A Special Connection

Do you wish you knew John McCain better? This man knows him pretty well, and he wishes more people knew him as intimately as he does. This man's name is Tom Kirk. He is going to be a delegate at this summer's Republican convention in Minnesota.

How did he get to know McCain? Like McCain, he was shot down in Viet Nam. Like McCain, he was imprisoned at the "Hanoi Hilton." He was one of 45 men living in the same cell with John McCain. Although McCain was offered a special privilege of leaving early, when the Communists learned that his father was the Admiral in charge of the Pacific fleet, McCain told them he would not leave until all of the men were released. Kirk wants to be a delegate because he knows that McCain is "a man of absolute integrity and honor." He further describes McCain as "extremely intelligent, very funny, and having a wonderful personality."

Thanks to the Rocky Mountain News and photographer Judy DeHass for introducing us to Mr. Kirk and allowing us to learn more about the character of the Republican presidential candidate.

The Real Massacre at Haditha

Corrupt Democrat Congressman Jack Murtha became the spokesman for Democrats on the Iraq war. How? By going on every mainstream media program in existence over and over again, saying that he had been given inside information about a maasacre conducted by U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq. Seven of the eight Marines have stood trial. All seven have been exonerated. The inside information has yet to materialize. So, who really massacred whom?

Via Powerline

Friday, June 20, 2008

Tonight's Sky

I could tell that the drama and electricity would be high once again tonight.

Sure enough, the clouds parted, and an opening developed.

God even outlined the clouds in brilliant light for us.

Dominance

We got this grey alpaca with black spots last night. It was after ten PM, so I did not grab my camera, but I should have, because of what happened next...

Along came this guy, who is the largest alpaca in the herd of eight. He jumped on the grey alpaca's back and rode him, rode him, and rode him. Just a little lesson in dominance there, bro.

I noticed today that the two smallest alpaca had become fast friends.

They are fascinating creatures, which seem to be part giraffe, part camel, and part deer.

Why Ben Shapiro is Voting Democrat

"I'm voting Democrat because I believe that the best strategy in war is
defeat. It broadens the mind to learn Japanese, German and Arabic. Talk about multiculturalism!

I'm voting Democrat because I'm mad that George W. Bush hasn't caught Bin Laden. That's because Bin Laden is the only Islamic terrorist in the world.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that the ideal family is two homosexual bonobos, a goat and a parrot raising a human baby. Love and compassion is all it takes to make a successful family!

I'm voting Democrat because our enemies on the battlefield deserve comfy hotel rooms, Pay-Per-View, prostitutes and all the benefits of American citizenship.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe we need other countries' permission for me to turn down my thermostat.

I'm voting Democrat because I care about the real victims of crime -- criminals.

I'm voting Democrat because the real cure for racism includes preferential policies based on race -- particularly in presidential voting. If you believe that a black candidate ought to be qualified, as well as black, you're worse than Bull Conner.

I'm voting Democrat because everyone deserves crappy healthcare. Sure, you'll have to wait years for that life-saving cancer surgery. But it's first come, first served at the cemetery!

I'm voting Democrat because I believe in minority rights (except in Muslim countries), free speech (with regard to pornography but not conservative talk radio), environmentalism (unless we're talking about Al Gore's house) and diplomacy (but never backed by the threat of military force).

I'm voting Democrat because I like the words "hope" and "change." Also "kazoo." That's a funny word.

I'm voting Democrat because I believe that America's founders were rich, white, greedy xenophobes, and that America's founding principles are hogwash requiring periodic editing from an unelected group of liberal judges.

Most of all, I'm voting Democrat because I like the ideas they have over in France, but I don't feel like moving there. I'll threaten to move, but I really won't. After all, I have a good job, healthcare, lower taxes, free speech and a social framework that promotes family structure. And all of it is defended by the most effective fighting force on the planet."


via Rivka at Right Think

Beware of the Brown Note

Now this could be fun!
"Denver's organizing moonbats allege that the city's counterprotestor activities will be grossly disproportionate to the situation, including use of the "brown note" of urban legend, longer-lasting tasers, and a microwave ray gun:

Beware of the Brown Note.

That's the word among some political activists as the Democratic National Convention nears.

As legend has it, the Brown Note is an infrasonic frequency believed to resonate through human body parts and cause a loss of bowel control. Some protesters are convinced that Denver police will amplify such low frequencies to subdue them in August.

"They'll bring out all the technologies they can get their hands on," says activist Ben Yager. "I wouldn't put anything past police in terms of crowd control."


Via Slapstick Politics, which notes that the brown note myth has, unfortunately, been debunked.

"If gravitas is eight letters, they're about seven letters short."

Now that Tim Russert has been buried, two MSNBC cable hosts are angling to be named Tim's replacement on the Meet The Press Sunday show. They are Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann. An NBC insider said,
"They're cable. They're far too partisan. They have no gravitas. If gravitas is eight letters, they're about seven letters short."

Via Jammie Wearing Fool

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

"Plastic Bags Okay?"

From Daily Tech: "A new technology, developed by researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, takes ordinary cellulose and puts it through special processing. The end result is a paper, made out of normal wood pulp that has an incredible tensile strength of 1.6 times that of iron." "The new paper is composed of nano-sized whiskers of cellulose."
Via Finestkind Clinic and Fish Market

A More Accurate Interpretation of What Scientists Say

Boinky has a post to help us understand what scientists really mean. Example: what the scientist says: "Results obtained with the second sample must be interpreted with caution." What he really means: "I dropped it on the floor but managed to scoop most of it up."

New Problems, New Solutions

Now that the five liberal Supreme Court justices have acted on behalf of the terrorists at Guantanamo, there are some problems. Since each terrorist will now be granted a trial before a civilian judge, the first thing we need to do is find a jury of their peers. Obama can help with that. His close friend, Pentagon bomber William Ayres, certainly qualifies as a peer of the terrorists, and he can certainly find eleven other terrorists to give these poor victims of our military a true trial of their peers.

But, there is yet another problem. The judges who try these cases will now become targets for other terrorists, as they have in many other countries. No problem. Richard Miniter, terrorism expert extroardinaire, has the solution. Just bring all the terrorists to the neighborhoods where the five liberal Supreme Court justices live, and free them!

Update: Comedian Dennis Miller has another solution. He suggests we unload the terrorists at the par three golf course O.J. Simpson plays in Florida.

Or, how about this idea. Since they are our enemy, how about we kill them?

Here's another idea. Since we want Iraq to solve their own problems, why don't we just turn them over to the Iraqies, and let them place them in one of those prisons Saddam used to run; you know, the guy who had no connection with terrorists, no weapons of mass destruction, no rape rooms for his sons to play in.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Free At Last!

Have you been following the military trials of the Hadditha Marines? Eight Marines were originally charged. Only one man remains charged. The latest to be released is a Colorado officer named Chessani. Radio talk show host Michael Savage from the beginning urged his audience to send whatever monies they could to the defense of these men who have been defending us. Our government has spent over thirty million dollars prosecuting the Marines, according to Savage. Why?

You probably remember big-mouthed corrupt Democratic Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha convicting these men in the press over and over again before they were put on trial. Has he apologized? Hell no! Praise God that good men have been freed from prosecution by their own government!

She's Back!


Jon was happy today to be able to ride Metallica, our horse who has been away for a month with a horse trainer. All of the other kids rode, too.

Our Daily Stock Market Report


Via Webutante

Via Conservatism with Heart

Last Night's Sunset and Moonrise