Dear Dave,

Did you ever try to teach a stray cat you brought in anything? It is frustrating. You hope and pray that someday it will learn to use the litter box instead of crapping on the living room carpet. Every day you hope for a breakthrough.

That is how I feel about you. Most of my readers will wonder why I bother, but I cannot help myself. You are like the son I am glad I never had. Somehow I feel it necessary to try and help you overcome your angry bitter outlook on life. I don't want you to always be the relative at family get-togethers no one wants to sit beside. It has to hurt for you to hear relatives murmur, "Dave, I love him, but I really do not like him".

You see condescension and an I am always right attitude gets old. Fast. I am here to help you make friends and be a more pleasant guy to be around.

I have read a great deal of you blog posts and comments. It is clear you hate those who make predetermined judgements about a person based on his sexual orientation or race. Yet you are guilty of the very same. You automatically assume anyone who may have a different viewpoint is automatically stupid.

You're just a middle-class salesman in a shitty state who's never risen above low-level management who votes against his own self interests.

You're pathetic. And what's even sadder is that you're happy being pathetic because you're too stupid to know that the GOP is fucking you.

Where do I even start? Some of us are capable of thinking. I can read the news and draw my own conclusions. I have a very good education. I graduated from a top 50 university. I would put my education against yours any day. I have read some of the greatest political thinkers and philosophers of the ages, including Plato, Marx, Smith, Descartes, Hume, Lock, Bacon, Paine, Jefferson, Madison and others. I understand the political science and historical aspects of economic thought.

You can believe it or not, but I rarely listen to Limbaugh, I find him a pompous ass. I have been to Breitbart's site exactly twice in my life (last year in the Acorn scandal and this week). I read the blogs over there on the left. I do not watch Fox News except during election times. Under what basis do you think independent people of similar political beliefs cannot come up with the same thoughts? I guess you get all of your ideas from MSNBC and Kos. Do you not have any original ideas? Does Ed Schultz do your thinking?

As far as my professional life, you know nothing about me. You have no idea of my title, work experience or managerial capabilities. I am willing to bet my managerial background is significantly more broad than yours. I have been a plant superintendent responsible for three shifts of production and more than 500 workers. I have been a global sales manager with the travel record to prove it. You make assumptions with the basis not in evidence.

As far as where i live, Indiana has factories and farms, and museums, and plays, and opera and the symphony. There are far worse places to raise a family and to denigrate the State shows further bias.

AS far as my politics. I am not Republican, I am Conservative. Two minutes of research and understanding of basic English would show you that.

Of course like most of your ideological ilk, you are angry and bitter that 60% of Americans reject your progressive worldview. History is replete with examples of the success of small government and laissez-faire economics. You can not point to a single successful socialist economy. Europe is trying to move away from big government as fast as it can. The State controlled economy destroyed the USSR. In the history of the world there has never been a society so productive, so successful as the United States.

I could debate you on the the success for minorities under the Great Society, or the ramifications of Government control of private industry.

My kids all operated under the idea that I was old and stupid when the ywere teenagers. Thankfully they grew up and realized I had a valid points of view.

I guess some people just mature a little more slowly.

Dog days of Summer

Tuesday, Ellison posted a story about air conditioning, or the lack thereof. Like most people my age we did not have air conditioning when I was a kid. I remember the sweltering nights lying on sweat-damp sheets trying to sleep. My bedroom was on the northeast corner of the house. I had a window facing each direction. Those of you who live in the Midwest know that the wind never blows from the East or North in the summer.

For some reason my Mom had an aversion to electric fans. It never occurred to me to question it, that was the way things were (I have to ask her about that). Since it was so hot in the house Otter and I usually put up a tent in the backyard and slept in it. The tent usually went up the first days after school let out in May and we took it down around September. I guess we averaged sleeping out three or four times a week from the time we were seven or eight until we were twelve or thirteen, maybe older. It was not exactly roughing it. Mom usually had some Kool-Aid Popsicles in the freezer (in those Tupperware gizmos).

Some kids might have used the opportunity of sleeping in the backyard to run around the neighborhood after everyone had gone to sleep. Maybe I was "some kids". I will admit, some forty years later, that I did participate in the streaking craze of the day. Was it brave for a kid of eight or ten to strip off his clothes and run around the block buck-naked? Is it less an achievement if he did it at three in the morning?

Look out Ethel...

Stuff you don't care about

Last night I barbecued some chicken on the grill. We had some Indiana sweet corn and some fresh tomatoes the wife picked up a t the farmer's market. I made some potato salad and deviled eggs to round out the meal.

Just as I was bringing in the chicken, it started to rain. We had some hard rainfall and some tornado warnings, but nothing severe hit the old homestead.

One final thought, if the woman in the video below is so sure she did nothing wrong, she should not have resigned. She should have let the Ag Secretary fired her and then had her day in court.

The Cubs made a miraculous comeback last night. Down 7-1 they ended winning 14-7! I had just bitched to the wife that the number three and four hitters boasted the lowest batting averages on the team. They combined for 10 RBIs. That's why Pinella manages the team.

Freedom

This guy has his head on straight. His letter to the left sums up the problems with the progressive way of life.

The progressive/socialist/communist/fascist ideology has failed everywhere it has been tried. What makes you think it should be tried here?

No commentary needed

I bet Josh and Dave will be all over this one. They are quick to point out racism in the rest of us...

h/t Big Dick

UPDATE Racist asshole resigned. They should have refused her resignation and fired her.

Beaches or mountains or forest or lakes

Do you ever have one of those days where you wish you were anywhere but here?

What I would give for a week or two where I did not have to worry about money and bills or work or problems or politics. I need a vacation in the worst way.

A real vacation.

A vacation from my life.

Monday Mumblings

Good morning blog world. I have been up since around 4:45 this morning. No I do not know why. I wish I did. I did make some coffee, read the paper and take out the trash. Now I am spending a few minutes with you. Do you feel special? The boy was just going to bed as I got up. Ahhh to be a teenager again. In my youth I was up all night in the summer reading and watching old movies. He is up playing video games.

I switched plans mid-stream yesterday. I was on my way to the store to get the fixins to make BBQ chicken on the grill. When I entered the venerable Marsh Supermarket I decided to make a lasagna instead. It was good. L luckily I have the recipe in my brain, although I almost forgot the ricotta.

I did get the yard mowed yesterday afternoon. The bushes still are untrimmed. Oh well. I hope you had a great weekend.

Fing Cubs have won three of four since the All-Star break. I fear it is too late.

Here is a fine "Monday" song for your listening pleasure:


One of my all-time favorite songs.

Digging Holes

Yesterday I finally got to work putting in my new mailbox. I have been putting it off for three or four weeks. It was damn hot, tiring work. Of course I started around noon, the hottest time of the day.

I keep forgetting I am no longer 25. Work that was easy in my youth just drains me now. The hard Indiana clay about did me in. I lifted and slammed those post hole diggers until my arms ached and I could barely lift the torturous tool. Lift and slam the blades down into the earth. Turn a half turn and repeat. After about ten lift/slams I scooped out maybe a half inch of clay soil. One half hour of work got me a six inch hole, and my shirt and short soaked in sweat. By then my legs, back, shoulders and arms were quivering.

I got the boy out of bed.

When we were finally done, the mailbox set and screwed onto the post, we were cleaning up the tools. As I hefted the post hole diggers the boy said "Put those somewhere we will never find them again".

My plans for trimming bushes and mowing the lawn were cancelled due to exhaustion. I took a shower and a nap. the boy showered and went off with his friends, seemingly tired but a few minutes. The wife went off last evening to the wedding of a co-worker. I watched an old Errol Flynn movie and then smoked a cigar out on the deck as the sun sank in the distant West.

I am still tired and sore this morning. This loss of power and strength is the hardest part of growing older. I used to be strong. I could work all day. I could move and lift. It is clear I have to start exercising more. It sucks to get old.

Weekend Funny

I have a dream

It is not an original idea.

I was thinking we should take Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, those parts of Illinois that are not Chicago or Springfield and form a new nation. Heck, we could take the whole of the country between the right and left coasts, minus New England, Michigan and Chicagostan, Wisconsin and Minnesota and form a new country. You know, the Red States. We could call it Red State Indiana The United States of America. We could just use the Constitution as it is written. The rest of the old States can find their right to Abortion, to Government mandated health care and windmills in any old document they choose to create from "living" words. Everyone would be happy.

Those in the new Progressivestan will have the theaters and cultural centers they love so much. We will have the farms and factories and coal mines and oil wells. They will have the beaches, granted. But we will have the guns. I can live without sand. They will have their Priuses and little bity clown cars. We will have trucks.

The best part of it all is that while Progressivestan becomes a giant Detroit/Gary/Cleveland/Toledo/Newark/Camden we can watch it all implode. After a few decades the blue staters will eat their own and the US of A (revised) can step in and claim our old territory! We likely can pick up the shebang at a Sheriff's sale for pennies on the dollar.

This about sums it up

This songs says how I feel about things these days: politics, weather, this blog.

I don't care anymore.

You people elected that empty suit. Congress ignores the will of the people. Hold tight, the shit is going to hit the fan. I suggest you grab some safety goggles and keep your mouth closed.

Quick Thought Thursday

Believe it or not, I am all for paying reparations. I say we give $100,000,000 tax free to each and every former slave who was alive when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was passed. To collect these funds the individual will have to appear in person before Congress.

When I turned on the lights in the office this morning two of the four bulbs in the overhead light were burned out. I am working in the semi-darkness.

Coming back from Cheeseheadistan yesterday evening I hit both Milwaukee and Chicago during the evening rush. Some days it is good to be me.

Why is it that some people do not use their cruise control? They pass me, slow down, drive in my blind spot, pass me, slow down... routine gets old after thirty or forty miles.

If you are driving in the left lane, and everyone on the highway is forced to pass you on the right, you are a douchebag asshole ignorant driver. You are also likely from Ohio. I have ranted about this before, and I know how you feel about this Dan-o. I am especially calling out the jerk in the blue minivan puttering along at 55 in the left lane holding up a mile of traffic.

The MLB all-star game is a joke. Just name the players to the game and forget playing it. The same can be said for the NFL ProBowl -- why bother? NBA -- I don't care, I don't watch. I can guess it is a waste of time and oxygen too. Does the NHL have a meaningless game too? If so, ditto above, other than I care even less.

Is there anything so refreshing as fresh pineapple?

Maybe watermelon.

I do not know what I am having for supper tonight, but it is going to include sweet corn and tomatoes -- hopefully I can find some yellow and red ones at the farmers market.

I think the Union workers are trying to set a record. How long does it take to rebuild the interchange at I-65/I80. They have literally been working there for 4 or five years, with no end in sight.

Let me get this straight. Arizona must be sued because it "interferes" with Federal Immigration policy. Sanctuary cities do not? I swear some days I am living in Alice's Wonderland. Is it opposite day?

Does anyone else find it ironic the NAACP, an organization founded to support members of a single race (ie not for advancing whites or Asians) is calling out another group for racism? Isn't that like the Klan calling out La Raza?

I saved 1.6 trillion new jobs. Last week. That is about as believable as the Administration's claims.

The near-constant race-baiting may backfire and a real race war might break out. Anjin, over at Yabu's place has called it. Perhaps that is on the President's agenda? A crisis cannot be wasted, you know. It was just through such civil unrest that Dictators have taken control of government throughout history -- Caesar, Napoleon, Lenin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Castro to name but a few.

I know, maybe I need some Midol.

Just get me to the church on time

Proud Papa dancing with the Bride

How much do you make a year?

$47,000. I am not sure what you make, and I do not care. I am confident you do not have this amount of extra cash sitting in the old sock drawer. You owe that amount in debt. That is the current burden for each and every American to cover our Government's ever increasing debt.

$47,000.00. That is a lot of money. I have a family of four still living at home. At $47,000 our burden is $188,000. That computes to a whopping $515.07 per day and growing. That is our share here at the Hoosierboy homestead for the National Debt.

You can read all about it here.

Does that sound like a lot of cash? Just think, Obamacare has not been figured in.

Hope and Change in large doses. Sorry about your vote yet?

Heigh Ho

Hello Monday. I am back after a terrific weekend. If you read back a few posts you will know my Daughter was married Saturday. It was a great day. I felt no urge to cry at any time, she was happy and I was happy. My daughter looked gorgeous in her dress. My wife was beautiful. We had a good time at the reception. All in all great weekend. I will try to get up some pictures soon.

Now I have three days of emails to read and phone calls to return. Mondays always suck, but this one looks to be a regular sump pump kind of day.

Green Energy

Over the next few years, the development of wind energy could cost Indiana households more than $40 million per year, adding at least $2 per month on average to the typical bill for the state's 1.5 million homes.

source

The Obama promised he was going to make our electric bills skyrocket. We will not be able to power down the coal plants, they are the backup for when the wind does not blow.

But, Hey, we will all feel good that we are going green!

Obama and his liberalbraindead progressive minions want to eliminate coal, oil and natural gas a energy sources. They have no actual alternative to replace them. We can't build nuclear plants, we cannot build dams to generate hydroelectric power. Solar and wind energy cannot be relied upon. We sure cannot go back to wood or whale oil. There is a lot of hot air coming from the administration, but not enough to heat our homes this winter.

Can we burn Hope and Change?

Another ode to my baby girl

I wrote this post back in 2005 just before my little girl headed off to college. It may not be well written, but I am proud of it anyway. Go ahead and click the link, I will wait.

On Saturday that same little girl will get married. As you can guess she is no longer a little girl. She is a fine woman, a teacher. But little girls are special to their Daddies. She was my first child. I had never held a baby before she was born. I had never fed a baby a bottle, never changed a diaper. She did not come with an instruction manual.

Oh God, did I make mistakes. To me she was perfect. As she grew older I expected perfection. I tried to be a good father. I have never worked at anything so hard in my life.

Now there is another man in her life. In all honesty, if I had searched the world over I could not have found a better husband for her. He loves her completely. He is her friend. He is caring and supportive. He is a good man. I wish them the greatest joy and happiness possible.

When she was three all my daughter wanted in the world was for me to walk her to Dorner's Park so I could push her in the swings. Saturday I will walk her down the aisle. The new love of her life will be waiting at the end of that walk. I am sure several times in the next days the intervening two decades will play themselves in my mind, a sad and wonderful movie. I will remember birthdays and dance recitals. Christmases past and school plays, band concerts and bike rides will swirl in my brain. A few tears may fog my vision for a moment or two.

Saturday will be a joyous day. My heart will be bursting with pride. Doesn't every parent wish for their kids to be happy? I am told I am expected to say a few words at the reception. I do not know what to say. How do you sum up your thoughts about your daughter and her new husband in a minute or so? How do you tell a room of family, friends and strangers what your daughter means to you? How do you express your happiness when tears are streaming down your cheeks?

Someday she will have kids of her own. I can only hope she remembers her Mom and me and acknowledges we did our best. If the way she turned out is any indication, we did OK. Then she will gaze at her little baby and ask, "Where is the owners manual".

Godspeed and happiness Baby.

A quiz for you

Read this story from yesterday's Indianapolis Star.

Do you see anything out of line? Does any aspect of the story bother you? Do find it outrageous and unfair?

Let me help you:

The officer asked for the identification of all people in the vehicle, after which the passengers "became uncooperative, belligerent and verbally abusive to the officers," Towle said.

Asking for ID off all the people involved in a lawful stop by law enforcement is not unusual, it is common practice. Was this action by the Greenfield police racist? The player in question is white.

The controversial Arizona immigration law says that law enforcement will ask for Identification of everyone at a routine stop. If anyone is found to be illegal the individual will be charged.

You liberals can control your vapors. Arizona law codifies what already happens. get over it. If you have issues, how about you ask your President to seal the border and this will not have to happen.

Ypou liberals, those that have your panties in a wad about the Arizona immigration law, do a littl eresearch. Google Muehler v. Mena. Learn something today.

Will the nickle and dime crap never end?

My daughter has been informed that she will be charged $80 by the reception hall because she will have a table of 6 instead of 8 at her reception. I guess she should have tried harder to make sure her guest list was divisible by 8.

Damn those two people that were unable to attend her wedding. Maybe she should have just revoked the invitation of 6 people?

Seriously, I am starting to hate everyone in this world.

Spread the wealth

h/t GOC Like he urged, this should go viral.

Customer Service is Dead or Why we all hate the bank

Let me start this tale by stating outright my son was at fault, at least in the outset. No, actually I am sort of at fault. OB (oldest Boy) called and said he was not getting as many hours at the restaurant where he works and could we deposit some money. The kid has to eat. I put a small amount of cash into his former National City now PNC BANK account (PNC took over National City last week). I did not know he switched long ago to another bank because there are no branches of said PNC BANK in his college town. He said this was no problem, he could use his debit for that account. He took out some money. National City did not charge for using another bank's ATM. PNC does -- policy change! And yes, I am sure in some of the fine print of the terms and conditions booklet they sent him it stated this change. I am equally sure he tossed the book in the trash as soon as he got it, just like 70% of the account holders of the new PNC.

My oldest boy is a college student. Like most of his generation he conducts every consumer transaction with his debit card. Because of the ATM fees and his own incompetence he overdrew the account by $10.53. PNC charged him $72 in overdraft fees. I do not have an issue with this. There were two charges of $5+ each that overdrew the account. He should have paid attention.

OB checked his balance on the computer because he knew it was low. He did not realize some charges go through as a credit (gas) and take a day or two to appear. He called and said he had overdrawn the account and could I cover it. Lecture etc. on how to keep a register and responsibility blah blah followed (cue adult whah wahah from Charley Brown).

I put more in the account, thinking he had overdrawn the account $5 and there would be a $36 fee, again leaving some money to buy groceries and gas. He used around $16 of additional charges -- $1.04 at Burger King, $4 at the convenience store, etc. Not knowing another charge hit his account as he did not account for the other $5 that had not gone through. He was hit the other (legitimate) $36.

PNC Charged him another $144 in charges. Those charges over drew his account, and since he had used it some more -- again the amount spent was less than $17.00, another $108.00 in charges have accrued. Keep in mind the bank continued to let him use the card.

PNC has a different policy on charges too. The bank does not accrue the charges on an NSF until 3:00 the next day. If you overdraw your account today, the charges are not applied until tomorrow afternoon. This is not a grace period in case you discover your error. No, as soon as you go negative you will be charged, but the fees will not be added until the next afternoon.

OB got caught in this time lapse twice. He discovered he was overdrawn, money was deposited, but no charges were accrued yet so he used the card again, causing more charges. Basically he was charged $252 in charges because of NSF fees.

To shorten and already too long tale, the wife went to talk to the bank yesterday. She was told pretty much too bad, the new policies went into effect last week and he should have read the booklet they sent him. The banker agreed the charges were all incurred because of bank fees. She did not have the authority to waive any fees, that is made at "corporate". In any case my wife was told they would not waive more than 2 fees. Oh, and since his account is now overdrawn four days, additional fees will be charged. Since there is not funds to cover that charge another NSF will accrue.

By next Monday, OB will have been charged over $300 in fees for overdrawing his account $27.00. PNC sure has a nice racket going. Way to welcome your new customers.

BTW, that account can sit overdrawn until hell freezes over. I paid the over draft and the two NSFs. I will not pay fees accrued because of fees.

Obama sues Arizona over a law that has not even gone into effect

Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.


Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

.

I don't know, the words in those two Amendments seem pretty straightforward to me. The Constitution grants limited power to the Federal Government. The rest go to the States or the people. The rights listed is not a list of every right, just some. The balance belong to the States or the People too.

Arizona says we agree with the Federal Law regarding immigration. We also make the Federal Law a State law. If you are here illegally we are going to turn you over to the Feds. The People of Arizona agree.

On what grounds are the Feds suing Arizona?

It is a crime to murder someone, yet somehow the Feds say it is a Federal Crime if discrimination was involved. The Feds are saying it is a State and Fed issue, we agree and we can both charge you. Arizona is saying it is a State and Fed issue, we agree and we will both charge you.

What is the difference?

Obama does not want to enforce the laws and seal the border. Arizona does. Arizona Governor Brewer is making The Obama look bad for not doing his job. Obama will not stand for that.

Intimidating people at the polls -- OK. Enforcing existing laws not so much.

News Flash

It is hot. It is humid.

It is July. It seems to do this every year around this time.

This parenting stuff is hard

The boy has been planning for months to attend the Warped Tour Concert in Capital City today. We agreed on one condition -- he had to get a ride. He could not drive. His Mom has been bugging him for about a month --"How are you going to get there"?

"I have a ride", he said.

Friday he assured us his friend Josh was driving. We went and bought the ticket. He paid the $42 from his own money. Last night my wife asked him what time Josh was picking him up. He replied, " Uh, I am driving now".

Uh oh. Big Problem. In our house one asks permission, you do not just inform the parents on big decisions. Two, the whole condition was that he NOT drive. He has not had his driver's licence even a year. His experience is driving around our little town. The concert venue is located in the most congested area of the big city. He does not have a clue on how to get there. If I asked him which direction to drive from our house he could only give a general wave to the Northwest. He has no experience driving in heavy traffic. Yes, Houston, we have a major problem here.

In fairness, he thought he had two different rides. The kids agreed he could go with them. The kids just did not ask their parents if they could drive. The other parents are like us. They allowed the kid could go listen to the concerts, as long as they caught a ride.

We have three options. tell him to stay home. Let him drive, armed with written directions and my GPS. Drive him myself (this is the most humiliating option, but punishes me also).

What would you do?

F-ing Cubs

I have heard the Cubs are petitioning the league to just skip the seventh inning for the remainder of the season.

Monday Music

One of Bob's most beautiful songs.

Happy Fourth

Just to help get you in the mood, here is a video of Fred Astaire doing his 4th of July dance from one of my all-time favorite movies -- Holiday Inn:



There are two ways of looking at problems. A buddy of mine might think he has had a run of bad luck. He could also claim God is looking out for him. It is truly a glass half full/empty perspective.

About five years ago his appendix ruptured. Being a stubborn male he waited until he could no longer take the pain to go to the hospital. He almost died. Two years ago he had his right knee replaced. he fell into that 1% that had complications. He got an infection. They had to go in and surgically force the metal joints to bend a few months later. It took months and months before his new knee was better than the old damaged one.

Last year was a doozy. Long-time perusers here might remember me writing of my best friend of over 35 years. He felt chest pains. he went to the hospital (luckily only a few blocks from his house). He suffered a heart attack in the emergency room. Only the quick action of the doctors and nurses and the shock paddles kept him alive. He was flown to Indy by helicopter. A few weeks later, while at a follow-up visit to the doctor, he had another heart attack. He now sports a defibrillator and pacemaker under his skin.

Friday, he wrecked his motorcycle. Luckily he is not too badly hurt this time. A car slammed on its brakes right in front of him to avoid some fucking geese in the road. he lost control on some gravel and had to lay the bike down. His helmet is cracked. So is a rib. Road rash coats the left side of his body. His hip is swollen he says, but luckily not broken.

Dude has more lives than a cat, I swear.

Have a great weekend.

Independence day

Remember, It is not all about the fireworks.

Weekend Funny

Have a Great Holiday Weekend!

The Constitution as a living document

Do you believe the Constitution is a living document? take a gander at this article and see if it changes your mind:

Let's say you needed to hire a football referee. If he said that he was a "pragmatic" referee, who viewed the rule book as "living" and thus would interpret the rules to suit the "times," would he be your man?

Since it's the job of the rule-makers to craft the rules, and the referee's role is only to determine if they've been broken, I think you'd be aghast. It would be obvious that you were dealing with someone who didn't know what his job was or was unwilling to perform it. And you certainly wouldn't want to hire a referee who was giving himself the latitude to say, "This fellow here violated a rule, but since I don't like that rule, I'm going to let his action stand" or "That guy over there has gone by the book, but I don't like something he did, so I'll penalize him anyway."

A judge's job is analogous to a referee's. It is the legislature's (rule-makers') place to make the rules, and the judge's only role is to determine if they've been broken. How he feels about a given law is irrelevant. He is but a gatekeeper.

Read the whole article

I was asked to leave a liberal blog and never come back during the Obamacare debate when I pointed out the Constitution (and the Founders own words as outlined in the Federalist papers) created a Federal Government with limited powers. I opined that like it or not, that was our Government. I was told that the Constitution was outdated. I really pissed them off when I stated the way to change the nature of the Government was not by Legislative or Judicial fiat, but through the Amendment process. They asked me to leave. Some people cannot handle the truth.

I have been kicked out of better places.

Why you should vote Democrat volume II

h/t Blackiswhite

Why you should vote Democrat

Voter ID

Yesterday the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the State's voter ID law. The statute says one must present a form of identification before casting a vote. ID are offered free from the BMV.

Can someone, anyone, offer a case against this apparently reasonable requirement? The League of Women voters argues against the measure by stating that the State has failed to show that voter fraud exists. I guess once we have a fraudulent election it is Ok to fix the problem?

We have to show or ID to board a plane, cash a check, buy plates for our car, collect welfare and food stamps. In Indiana you have to show ID to buy beer, no matter your age. Why should we not aspire to the highest integrity when exercising one of our most precious rights -- the franchise?

Kagan is not fit to be a judge at a dog show, forget the Supreme Court

We all know the process for confirming a nominee to the Supreme Court is a pain. We all expect the nominees to claim they can not comment upon cases they have not heard, or ones they might in the future. But Kagan's obfuscation goes beyond a claim of neutrality. She cannot comment on why she banned the military from recruiting at Harvard Law school in violation of Federal Statutes. She will not admit to writing memos in her own handwriting (It looks to be my handwriting, but maybe I did or did not write it). It is not too much to expect a potential member of the Supreme Court to comment upon Constitutional matters.

She apparently has no opinion on anything. She cannot answer a simple straightforward question. She cannot take a decision when offered a choice. Either she is Forrest Gump in a dress or she will not state her views as they are so far left of the mainstream that she will not be confirmed.

Those of you on the left, would you support the nomination of a Republican President who has never been a judge -- even for a parking ticket case. Who has never argued a case in front of a jury? Who has never written n opinion? I have been on a Federal grand Jury. I also served on petit jury (drug case). I might have spent mroe time in a courtroom that Kagan! She is without doubt one of the least qualified nominees ever.

Do the Repubs have the balls to refuse to vote her out of committee? The rules state at least one member of the opposition has to agree to move to a full Senate vote. Or do they have the courage to filibuster this unfit candidate?

They likely cannot stop her from getting affirmed, but this is worth a Clarence Thomas type fight.

November is coming. Have you changed your ways, members of the Stupid Party?

A[nother] Day that Shall Live in Infamy

If I have done my math correctly, I was married 26 years ago today. Like most married couples, I spend my time alternately loving her and plotting her demise. Should you be called to testify, that was a joke. Honest.

Seriously, I thank God every day for my wife. She puts up with a lot of crap from me. You know how I behave here, How would you like to deal with that all day every day? Chew on that for a mere three seconds and you will realize my wife is a damn saint. I married up, believe me.

Here is a rerun of a post I published back on June 30, 2007. I called it Lucky Man:

The shoes hurt my feet. I was a bit aggravated. I had to tell one of my buddies he should not be drinking beer in church. He did not see the problem. I told him the Catholics may not mind, but the Methodists had issues with alcohol in the church. I was half irritated because I wanted one of those beers myself.

I had been in an argument with some other people who wanted to mess with my car. Permanent marker does not come off of windows.

The whole thing was becoming a real pain. I cut myself shaving. The photographer annoyed the shit out of me with the stupid poses. Everyone wanted to talk to me tell me this or that, tell me a story or anecdote from their own experience.

I was pissed because I was standing there waiting. I have little patience now. I had less then. Otter was there. So were some other buddies. Finally the ladies came through the doors, things were finally moving.

I could not help smiling when she came through the door at last. She was beautiful: freckles and all. Her hair, her dress, all looked great. My irritation vanished as the organ switched tunes and the audience stood. Even though this all happened twenty-three years ago, I remember many of the details. The minister seemed to drone about the Galatians or some such. We dated six years before we got married, I guess I do have patience when it comes to certain details. At last the deed was done. We were off to the reception and then the best part -- the honeymoon!

Here I sit, twenty-three years later and I remain married. I am short tempered, I find myself incredibly amusing. My hair is graying and maybe even thinning a bit on top, but I really do not care to investigate. Bifocals are on my nose, my gut has grown. I fart a lot. She sports some gray when she does not keep her hair dyed. Her vision is getting bad too. She cannot decide if she needs longer or shorter arms to read a menu. She thinks she is fat. She complains about getting old. I still think she is beautiful and sexy. Some days I look at her and I am filled with desire. I thank God for her every day -- even those when she pisses me off. I suspect I anger her far more than she does me.

I wanted to post a picture from that day, but my scanner is again on the fritz. Trust me, she was the most beautiful woman in the world standing there in the Methodist Church -- June 30, 1984. I am a lucky man.

The potholes in memory lane

I think it was my second full day, maybe the third. There I was in a small mid-western liberal arts college. In those days ninety percent of the students lived in fraternities. The first days were rush and you moved in a few days before school started. I had already pledged over the summer, so I moved right in. Pledges were assigned rooms on the second floor. They were small rooms just big enough for two desks. We pledges were to sleep in a cold dorm across the hall. Next year we would be in the 4 man suites.

I was sitting in my room alone, wondering what the hell I was in to. Here I was living in a house with 70 guys. I did not know anyone well, just a passing acquaintance with a couple of older guys from my hometown. From one of the freshmen rooms next door I heard some familiar music -- Close to the Edge. Drawn like a magnet I went next door. I struck up a conversation. Bud and I hit it off right away. We both loved the same music. That was enough for a couple of 18 year olds thrown together.

I think it was that afternoon. Bud came over and asked me if I was cool. I went with him downstairs to one of the upperclassman's suites. One room held four desks, the middle two sets of bunk beds and the other room was fixed up like a living room. Five or six guys were in the room. The windows were open to the warm August sun.

Someone dropped the needle on Donovan's Mellow Yellow. Soon a bong was fired up. Woo, White, Hokey, Sean and others proceeded to make me welcome to my new home. From somewhere beer appeared. A mellow afternoon party moved into full swing. People came and went. I got to know some of my new brothers. I learned I was in the chucklehead suite, another name for the stoner's room. I remember the guys sitting around with pillows on their heads. We laughed at the joke they needed the pillows to protect their skulls from bumping on the ceiling, they were so high.

The second semester rolled around and we could choose our own roommates. For the next 3-1/2 years Bud and I roomed together. He was in my wedding, I in his. We still keep in contact, more than 30 years since that day he cranked up Yes on his stereo.

I was never a regular with the chuckleheads. I preferred to get my highs through beer. I enjoyed a cigar far more than a doobie. But I knew the door was always open. I am forever indebted to those guys for making me feel welcome. I tried to invite some incoming freshmen to my room as I became one of the 'old guys', sharing a few beers and conversation in an attempt to make the new guys feel a little less alone in a strange place.

Wish you were here

Last night was almost Chamber of Commerce perfect. The temperatures were finally in the mid-seventies and the humidity dropped below 90. It was a most pleasant evening. The wife was in wedding planning mode and to be honest I am just tired of the whole thing. Two more weeks.

I moseyed out to the deck and lit up a nice H. Upmann Chairman's Reserve Robusto. I tuned my iPhone to the Cubs game and spent a nice hour puffing away. I came back in around 9:45 as it started to get dark and the mosquitoes began to hum around my ears. For some reason they like to fly around my head, but they rarely bite me. I assume I am as sour to mosquitoes as I am to most humans with whom I come into contact.

Here is a photo I took between innings. This is the view of the sky to the north from my deck. Too bad you couldn't join me.

Wake me up before you go-go

An old buddy stopped by last night -- insomnia. I have been up since 4:00am. Now that it is time to start the work day, I am ready for a nap.

Today's earworm

Hard to find better guitar work anywhere. This tune really hit home as I was driving last week. I cranked the stereo and it got me through 100 more miles. This tune was written by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac before he went bonkers.

Since I am a nice guy, here is the original:


I bet some of you did not even know Santana's version was a cover.

No tears over this Byrd's death

Robert Byrd is dead.

Now even more shit in West by God Virginia will be named after him. They might as well just go ahead and change the name of the State altogether.

On the bright side there is one less liberal asshole waiting to vote for the Obama agenda. I think Byrd's aides just raised his old dead hand to vote on health care like some Governmental version of Weekend at Bernie's anyway.

I hope Nat Turner and his boys are waiting on you in Heaven to atone for your KKK days, Senator.

My sympathies to his family. It hurts to lose loved ones.

Tap, Tap, Tap

testing

testing

1 2 3

Is this thing on?

Hello?

Weekend Funny

The end of Don't Ask Don't Tell

***Note: this post was meant to be read aloud*****

Now that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is no longer the policy regarding gays in the military, homosexual men are flocking to enlist. The numbers are reportedly so great that the Pentagon is thinking about changing the motto of the Army/Navy/Air Force/ Marines to "We will never leave our buddies behind.

That joke works best when read aloud. Fill in your least favorite branch of service when repeating this joke. Don't look at me like that, you will repeat it.

Fact of Life #319

If you coach youth sports -- Little League, Pop Warner, Boys Club, etc.-- and you keep track of your "career" wins, you are a dickhead of major proportions.

If you brag about your number of "wins" you are just a total loser and douchebag.

The Hangover, a movie review

******************warning*************spoiler alert*************

If you have not seen the movie The Hangover read no further.




I was sitting in The Cracker Barrel. I was deep in Kentucky. I was eating supper. Near my hotel was the Cracker Barrel and a truck stop. The original KFC was just down the road, if you need to work out a more precise location.

If you have been to a Cracker Barrel you know the tables in the middle of the dining room are placed close together. Sometimes you cannot help overhearing the conversation at the next table, especially if you are alone and not having your own conversation, as was my case. Three older people sat at the adjoining table. A couple, probably in their sixties, and a single woman, also in what looked to be her sixties.

The single woman asked her companions if they have seen the movie The Hangover. They had not. The following is as close to a verbatim rendering of the conversation that followed as I can offer. I went right back to the hotel after eating my catfish and turnip greens and wrote it down so I would make sure and report it correctly.

You have to see the movie The Hangover. I laughed and laughed. It is kind of raunchy, but still funny. These four guys go to Vegas for a bachelor party and it all goes downhill from there. The groom gets locked on the hotel roof and the rest of the movie is about the other three trying to find him. But it ends OK, they make it back in time for the wedding. You have to see it, it is so funny.

If you have seen the movie, you know why that is hilarious. I think that lady should get her own movie review column in the local paper.

Today's movie is Citizen Kane. It is about this rich guy and his sled...

If there were tornado warning sirens for the blog world...

So I had lots of windshield time this week. That is good or bad depending upon your viewpoint. You see, when I am in the car I have nothing to do but listen to the radio and think up stuff I should post. Throw in the mix my company has "summer hours" (Translate very short workday on a Friday).

"So what" you say. The what is that I have many posts swirling in the open sewer that is my brain. Since I was gone most of the week I did not have time to look up Friday Covers or Friday Five material. I know few tears will be shed over that situation. But like last Friday, you can expect several posts today.

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

According to the local fishwrap we have had more than 14 inches of rain dumped on our fair city since the beginning of June. That is precipitation of Johnny Holmes proportions. My side yard is under water. Local rivers are in flood stage and corn is turning brown on the bottom leaves as the standing water in the fields rots the roots of the young plants.

I read a heartbreaking story this morning of a couple (he is a Marine) who bought a house last week. They moved in Friday afternoon. Friday night we had a deluge of rain -- 4 inches. Saturday morning they awoke to find their house surrounded by 18 inches of water and the garage flooded. According to the article, authorities assured the couple this was not unusual. The previous owners made no mention of the flooding problems. The house does not get wet, but the surrounding land is covered by water every time it rains. I am a firm believer in caveat emptor, but that is bullshit. The previous owners knew there was a problem and so did the Realtors involved.

The storms we have seen in the past few weeks are not just the hard rains we see crop up in the summer as the temperature rises and the humidity soars. These are authentic storms -- wind, rain, thunder, lightening, tornado warnings, and floods.

Some might claim that this is just another symptom of global warmingcoolingclimatechange, but I say Mother Nature is a fickle bitch and takes delight in screwing with our best laid plans.

Who wants to drive to Iowa or Tennessee in the sunshine anyway?

Roots

I have been looking into my family tree on and off for the past several years. Luckily others in the various branches have done the legwork and research. Since the Hoosierboy surname is not common, and in fact is a bastardization of the original German, such research is fairly easy. All of us came from a common ancestor who changed his name when he arrived in what became the good old US of A.

The Hoosierboy's of my particular branch have been on this Continent for 10 generations. My ancestors did not come over at Jamestown or on the Mayflower, but they have been Americans for a long time.

Here is to you Johannes. Thanks for getting kicked out of Germany.

The rest of the story

Perhaps you say the news articles from a few months ago detailing Dr.Kevorkian's Death Mobile was for sale (link). You might have wondered why the famous assisted suicide advocate was selling his mobile killing machine.

With apologies to the late Paul Harvey, here is the rest of the story.

Kevorkian sold off his machine because he found a better, more effective means of helping those people die who no longer want to be a part of the mortal world. He gained an added bonus in that he could no longer be tried for killing the willing victims.

What is the Doctor of Death's new suicide machine? Quite simply, he puts his patient into a nice recliner. He turns on the World Cup and lets the the viewer just be bored to death.

If I had a time machine

I dig the show Bewitched. I will admit I have a secret mild crush on Samantha. If the 1960's Elizabeth Montgomery came to the house I have permission from the wife to have a sordid affair. An easy decision since I cannot time-travel to the 1960s and the loverly Ms Montgomery is dead and doing her magic in the afterlife.

I will say this though, I do not get her asshole husbands on that show. Durwood marries a smoking hot witch. He could come home from work and in just a twitch of his wife's cute nose find himself laid back in the recliner with a cold beer in one hand and a bowl of cashews in the other. Dinner of his choice could be ready with a wave of Samantha's hands. He could have roast beef or hot dogs, hamburgers or pork loin. She would not mind. Who wants to slave away at a hot stove all day making beef burgundy or roasted chicken?

Instead, Darrin Stephens is the ultimate male prick. The poster boy for the birth of feminism. His wife will do things his way and only his way. No magic. No twitching of the nose, no help from the black powers. Not from a religious sense of duty, oh, no. Darrin wants things done according to his lights. "Scrub that oven with your hands Missy". "Breakfast better be ready when I come downstairs and I want dinner on the table when I get home". By the way, old Darwood might be bringing home his asshole boss and some sleazy client so Samantha better be prepared to fix dinner for six or eight with little notice -- but no magic, bitch. If Mr. Stephens had his way, he would prevent his wife's relatives from ever stopping or dropping in. He hates their magic and is beyond rude whenever they appear. Yet his own Mother is an overbearing, intervening, snob. He makes her welcome any time.

Good old Darrin hates his wife's magic powers until he gets in a pickle and then he is all for her using them. Every show is the same. Darrin gets himself behind the 8 ball and Sam saves his sorry ass with her magic and awesome good looks. I may have made up that last part.

The first husband -- greasy hair Darrin -- has some real anger issues. He is always gripping about Samantha's mother. He never seems to understand that if you are rude and pisss off a Mother0in-Law you are asking for trouble. Double that if she is a witch. A smarter less domineering asshole would have learned his lesson the first time his MIL zapped him off to an iceberg.

Samantha's second husband, who is mysteriously also named Darrin Stephens is an asshole too. I can only guess she married him only so the monogrammed towels could still be used. If anything he is a bigger jerk than greasy haired Darrin. He is always giving Sam that arched eyebrow glare of disapproval, even when her magic saves his bacon.

I just do not get why some hot chicks are drawn to the wrong kind of man. I have to agree with her family -- she could have done so much better. Perhaps a 1980s or 1990s Hoosierboy. There is no way I frown at that hot magic mama.

Happy Father's Day

Happy day to all you Dad's out there. I hope you get time to kick back, drink a beer or watch your favorite movie today.

Liars and hypocrits

The print media and the dying network news organizations just cannot understand why Americans are no longer reading their papers and watching their broadcasts. For me I don't read the paper as often as I like because apparently the concept of putting a paper in every red plastic receptacle is too difficult for my carrier. But most of us are turning away and tuning out because the reporting has gone from biased to outright playing for one of the teams.

One Republican Senator tap dances a super secret gay code in a restroom stall and it is the lead story for weeks. A Democrat Congressman commits assault and battery on a college kid -- on film -- and it is brushed under the rug. A Republican Representative sends text messages to an 18 year old page saying he wants to hook up (they never did) and he is booted from office. A Democrat Congressman runs a gay brothel in his basement and the result is cricket chirps in the media.

A Republican Congressman is caught taking bribes in California -- out he goes. A Democrat Congressman is caught taking brides and even has the money in his freezer -- why that is just racism.

I, for one, am fed up and sick of it. I have not watched a nightly news broadcast in years. I am glad to see the hacks and party supporters at Newsweek and the NY Times lose their jobs. I have a friend who works at one of the large weekly News Magazines (does anyone know what time it is) and he said he gets unbelievable pressure to frame his articles in a certain way. He sticks to the facts, but the editors often change the wording of his articles to bend the content to fit a certain editorial bias. He is senior enough to get his way, but as he tells me, some fights are not worth having. As we all know a troublemaker does not last long in any corporate environment. News organizations are a business too.

The reporting of news has always been a powerful force for shaping public opinion. Long before Goebbels and Pravda, the machinations of Hearst and Pulitzer dragged us into the Spanish-American War. Hyperbole and yellow journalism on both sides of the issue had a great deal to do with encouraging the Southern States to secede from the Union. The idea that journalist should present a far and unbiased viewpoint is a recent construct. While through much of the 1960s and 1970s the news media made no real effort to provide just the facts, we thought they did (hello Mr. Cronkite you leftist bastard). Only as reporters told us one thing about the Reagan Administration and we saw another did this great fallacy begin to fall apart.

Limbaugh, Drudge and others came along and began to tell the other side of the story. Rush may be as biased in his reporting as the Times, but at least he will admit it. He will tell you what he says is opinion, the WAPO just puts the opinion into the story and pretends it to be fact.

Today the legacy media does not get it. They haven't a clue we are on to them. They keep trying the tactics of attempting to hide their bias as news. The less we believe them, the harder they try, until today the news media is no more reliable than the yellow journalists of yesterday. Let us be honest, how can we expect any different outcome when the media honors the "best" reporters with a prize named after one of the most biased yellow journalist of the time?

Keep along this path media of today. We are on to you. Just try and convince us that taking a large bailout from the Government will make you more independent. Even those of us with a non-Ivy League public school diploma can see through that steaming pile of crapola.

Weekend Funny

All the cool kids are doing it

Summer comes and readership is down. It happens every year. Summer comes and I would rather be outside. Summer comes and politics dies down a little and we get worn out a little. Summer comes and the bloggy thing is even less cool.

Many of the cool kids are moving to new addresses. Dax did it a while ago. Leeann did it. Ellison just moved to a new site and Joan says she is moving soon. I have updated the links, find them over there on the left.

I have another site. I like the title and persona of the author over there better than here. I do not like the wordpress functions. As an old fart, change is not my strong suit. The other site has been up for a while. There is a link on my sidebar. I don't post there much, but I could if I wanted.

These crazy movers will prosper in their new homes. I will visit them as I have in the past.

You can rest assured, at least for today, I am not going anywhere. I will keep posting right here. I was never in with the popular crowd in school, preferring to go my own way. I might have moved a week ago, but now that it is popular, I am staying put. I am quirky that way. If possible, I would have lost my nose decades ago.

games people play

The phone buzzed with a text earlier.

"hey what was his name?"

??? I did not recognize the number. Trying to bring some good Karma my way I texted back:

"You have the wrong number"

The phone buzzed again. "quit bullshitting wit [sic] me its tina"

As I mentioned earlier, I am not in the best of moods.

"Quit texting me. "You have the wrong number bimbo"

buzz.

"u better watch who u saying i has the wrong number cuz u will get yours calling me a bimbo"

With remarkable self-restraint I refrained from any reply. Several pithy, vulgar, and mean rejoinders were racing through my mind, fingers poised above my tiny keyboard.

A few minutes later my phone rang from the same number. I assume it was Tina. She hung up when I answered. I guess she finally understood she had the wrong damn number.

See what I get for trying to help out a fellow human? I should have ignored the first text and let her think her friend was ignoring her.

So if you are reading this -- bite me Tina.

Thursday, the new Monday

I just ate a bacon sandwich with some Cheetos and a piece of Co-Jack cheese on the side. I washed it down with a can of generic Hawaiian Punch.

I have to admit, I have a very, very bad attitude today. Work sucks, life sucks, this blog sucks, our Government sucks,

It is probably best if you don't screw around with me today.

If I was a female you could say I have a case of PMS. I don't feel bloated, just mean and irritable.

Random Ramblings

I once spent 9 hours in a Chevy van with a guy who would only listen to Ray Stevens recordings. He had two cassettes that he alternated. Let me repeat -- NINE HOURS.

I have jumped out of a perfectly good airplane two times. In fact, I took off in an airplane three times before I ever landed in one. My first commercial flight was from Indy to Pittsburgh, on my way to Albany, NY. I guess that was around 1988. Since then, I have flown in excess's of 500 times.

I returned last night from a trip to Detroit. I drove 11 hours to sit in a conference room to watch an online meeting. Think about that for a minute.

I can (and have) started a fire at least three ways without using a match or lighter or even a road flare.

What is with the hairs growing out of and on my ears lately?

I graduated high school in 1980. For the reunion committee -- I have decided I will attend my 80th reunion. Not before. There is no point contacting me until the year 2060. Save yourself the postage.

Why is it that liberal left-wing fruitcakes make the best music?

When it comes to sex

I like to think inside the box...

Impeach Etheridge

Why is Bob Etheridge, Democrat, still a member of the US House of Representatives?

Arrest Etheridge

Why isn't Rep. Bob Etheridge, Democrat, in jail?

Put Etheridge in Jail

Why isn't Rep. Bob Etheridge, Democrat, in jail?

Impeach Etheridge

Why is Bob Etheridge, Democrat, still a member of the US House of Representatives?

Arrest Etheridge

Why isn't Rep. Bob Etheridge, Democrat, in jail?

Impeach Etheridge

Why is Bob Etheridge, Democrat, still a member of the US House of Representatives?

Jail Etheridge

Why isn't Rep. Bob Etheridge, Democrat, in jail?

Impeach Bob Etheridge

Why is Bob Etheridge, Democrat, still a member of the US House of Representatives?

Jail Etheridge

Why isn't Rep. Bob Etheridge, Democrat, in jail?

And another thing

Why is Bob Etheridge, Democrat, still a member of the US House of Representatives?

Tell me why

Why isn't Rep. Bob Etheridge, Democrat, in jail?

Deciphering the Liberal Position

As I understand things, BP is a greedy corporation displaying the worst of the capitalist system. Their only concern is profit, profit and more profit. The result is careless and shoddy work that resulted in the worst oil spill in the US.

BP is not trying to stop the oil spill even though it is costing the company millions of dollars every hour the oil flows. The cleanup costs could be staggering and the US Government led lawsuits will likely bankrupt the company. The Obama Administration has decreed all deep water drilling should stop, based on fabricated evidence, and BP has been ordered to pay for those unemployed workers too.

Ok, let me try again. We need to stop importing oil now. For national security reasons. We cannot drill for oil on land, in the Dakotas, in Alaska, off shore.

We need lighter, more fuel efficient cars. The only way to make cars lighter is to use less metal and more plastic.

Plastic is made from oil.

Natural gas is a perfect alternate fuel for automobiles. We cannot drill for it either.

I guess we will have to take the bus. Except for the people who live in rural areas and small towns.

Never mind, I can't make sense of the progressive position.

Dear Blog

You are becoming a bit too needy. I cannot continue to check on you multiple times a day. You are always demanding content, comment responses and fresh new ideas.

You are more than five years old now. This crying for attention act is wearing thin. I am attending to you morning, noon and occasionally at night. Sometimes I even look in on you while on work break. You even want me to pay attention to you on weekends and Holidays!

You are going to have to attend to your own needs on occasion. I know, I understand, but as a parent sometimes we have to demonstrate tough love.

You will be OK for a few days.

Weekend Funny

Gary Coleman's final resting place.

His Casket even has his name on it.



I know it is wrong on so many levels.

You laughed anyway.

Someday Iwill wake up and this kind of idiocy will have been a dream

I want ot be an illegal alien.

Bingo, movie night, free postage, hanging plants...

Sounds like a nice vacation spot to me.

The fact these people are CRIMINALS seems to be lost on some Americans.

I do not think I am alone believing this, but if you are not a citizen, you have no Rights under the Constitution. Taxpayers should not be funding your legal challenges, postage and movies.

Weekend Funny

Friday Five

There is that song. It comes on the radio while you are driving to Grandma's, or WalMart, or cruisin' the highways. You hear the first few notes and reach for the dial -- to turn it off.

There are those songs that litter our collective memory and the slightest sounds of the notes send foil-on-fillings cringes up your spine. The songs you loathe so much you would rather pierce your eardrums with icepicks, rusty hangers and screw drivers rather than endure. We are talking songs that make you wish you had spiders or small mice chewing the flesh of your inner ear rather than hear even them one more time.

You know the songs I am talking about. What songs do you hate most? I am not talking The Chicken Dance or The Hokey Pokey, but real songs that actually made the charts for some unknown reason?

I think we can all agree that Muskrat Love is number one, but what do you really hate?

Here are my five in reverse order:

5. Black and White as performed by Three Dog Night
4. Midnight at the Oasis as sung by Maria Muldaur
3. Billy Don't be a Hero by Paper Lace
2. The Joker by Steve Miller
1. Afternoon Delight by the Starland Vocal Band. May the author and composer rot in Hell.

With the exception of Number 1 and Number 2, I could interchange dozens of titles. I am sure some of you will remind me of other abortions of music that I will wish I had added. Some might say we could fill the list with Nickleback. Since I am in charge of this particular Friday Five Feature, I reserve the right to modify my list any darn time I feel like it. Don't push me or I will start posting videos of these songs. None of us wants that.

Play along or puppies will die, the terrorists will win and evil people will cut the whiskers off kittens. Void in Rhode Island. Failure to put your thoughts in the comments can put you on the author's shit list. No purchase necessary to play. Do it for the children. Playing may or may not help cure cancer. By playing along you acknowledge the author is correct in his declaration that Muskrat Love and Afternoon Delight are among the worst songs ever written and performed. Submitted written arguments proving otherwise will be considered. You will be wrong,and I will consider you a dip. Failure to provide a listing of five worthless songs indicates you hate babies and daisies. You would do it if you loved me. I will not tell anyone. Please, you don't understand how it hurts if you don't submit to the Friday Five. Do it for the children.

OK, you forced me:



Do not make me bring out Afternoon Delight.

But it is Federal money...

In my small town no kid goes hungry. For the second or third year in a row any kid under 18 gets a free a sack lunch every weekday all summer long. NO questions asked. Rich or poor. The school prepares the lunches and hands them out at a couple of different sites. These lunches are not bologna or peanut butter. They are ham or hot dogs or chicken. They even publish a menu.

We are laying off teachers, but passing out lunch in the summer time.

Yes, I know the lunches are being provided under a Federal Grant, but it is still taxpayer money, a fact that seems to be lost on many people. Someone is still paying.

Why are we passing out free lunch? One argument is some cannot afford to provide lunch for their kids. I call bullshit. If you cannot afford food, we the taxpayers, are subsidising your food through WIC or the Food Stamp program. There is no excuse for not having food for your kids. With a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread you can provide lunch for a week for two people for about $5. That is about $0.35 per day or around the cost of two cigarettes.

Of course eating peanut butter every day is not fun. But a peanut butter sandwich is nutritious and fills you up. I eat a peanut butter sandwich at least once a week for lunch.

Look, I am not against offering a helping hand. But this is not a poor community. If there was a demonstrable need to provide lunch I might go along. But we as a nation need to learn to say NO. Just because someone wants to give out free Federal money does mean we have to take it. The Government is beyond broke. We are borrowing money that will take generations to pay, if we stopped now. Despite what our local schools system believes, there really is no free lunch.

Who is really in charge?

I have never been a CEO of a company, or a top level manager. I have held low and mid-level management positions. I have supervised departments of three to eighty people. I have supervised salary and hourly workers. I have coached and managed and supervised.

One of the first basics of leadership I learned as far back as patrol leader of the Wolverine Patrol in Boy Scout Troop 338 was you have to give those around you clear objectives and the means to complete those tasks. Emotion plays no part in leadership. Like or dislike, political or moral differences have no role in performing the task, the work, the hike, life, or any other objective

There are books and seminars and classes to teach someone to manage and lead. The military has perfected the technics.

My leadership philosophy can be summed up neatly: We made a mistake -- you did a great job. Simply, when working for me, the task was not completed, the work was not done, it was because I failed to give you the direction, support, information, skills, or tools to complete the assignment. I failed you in leadership and management because I allowed you to fail. If the task was completed, then you did it.

This attitude has never failed me.

Politics aside. the President concerns me. It is becoming increasingly clear he lacks the leadership and managerial skill set to be President. He is not the first to be elected based on charm, or reputation, not on his leadership abilities. It may be acceptable, or even admirable as a community organiser to proclaim you are going down to City Hall to "kick some ass". That approach rarely works in a corporate environment. It may be effective organizing to appologize for actions you cannot control, but in the real world it only makes your adversaries and co-workers think you are weak.

I am not saying you have to be a self-righteous asshole, but finger-pointing and blamestorming are not effective leadership technics. We have all worked for that guy. Did you respect him? Was he a good boss/supervisor/leader? Say what you like about Pallin or McCain, again leaving politics aside, at least they have demonstrated leadership abilities. Running for election is in no way the same as running and air wing or a city or a State. On that there can be no argument.

President Obama to date has shown very little leadership. He cannot govern his emotions. He jumped the gun in the Harvard case, he has been "angry" at not only the Israelis but the officials at BP. He has stated he is in charge, but now wants to kick some ass. Part of the issue in the Gulf are that the problem is beyond fixing in a few days. The next problem is the very burden of the Federal Buaracracy. This stymied the efforts to recover from Katrina, and is an issue now.

Some in a position of power will accept responsibility. Other people want to point fingers and get all angry, like a four year old who does not get his way.

Which, I ask, is a real leader?

As a brief postscript, For those of you who would argue the point. Would your opinion of the President change if I told you, more than 50 days into the oil spill that President Obama has yet to have ameeting with the CEO of BP?

Dear Eggo Obama

Once again I am confused. You have assured us you are in charge, that YOUR administration has been on the scene directing things since around day two.

Now this

If your man is in charge, there is no question which ass you should kick. If things are not being done as your experts maintain, why not? You are in charge -- you told us so about a week ago.

The fact you have never managed anything but a campaign is becoming ever clearer to us all.

Extra, Extra get it while its hot

The wife, the youngest boy and your humble author. I leave it up to you to decide who is who.

Am I a stupid fat fuck or what?

A centipede walked right past my big toe while I was taking a crap last night

I usually consider myself historically aware. I completely blew the anniversary of D-Day Sunday. That is the first time I have failed to mark the occasion since I started this piece o'crap. I had every intention of correcting that failure early yesterday, only Blogger was down. Excuses, excuses. I am not sure when it came back up, but by that time, I was on the road making my living. When I got home we loaded up and went to dinner to celebrate a day early the Wife's birthday. Everyone came, kids, fiancees girlfriends. We had a good time, nary an argument among the kids.

The oldest boy is set to head off on tour this week. He is excited. I am concerned his already weak voice will not hold up through ten straight days of performing. He is too. We are trying to decide where would be best to go see him. The closest venues are out of the question since I have to be at a sales meeting. If anyone knows anything about a place called Pats in the Flats in beautiful Cleveland, shoot me an email.

Mucho Thanko for all of you fine birthday ideas. I had about decided Sunday to check into spa packages (great minds, eh wot?) when the wife announced she would like a new watch for her birthday. Done and done. So a new timepiece sits in my desk awaiting presentation later this evening. Again, thanks a heap for your kindly advise, blog Brothers and Sisters.

Insert pithy title here

I am a little ashamed of myself. I accomplished absolutely nothing yesterday. I parked my ass and was a lazy. lazy grasshopper. Well, I guess I did make a spinach dip in a bread bowl, but to be honest, that took like seven minutes. The wife said everyone at the bridal shower ate it like it was ambrosia (not her words).

It rained on and off yesterday, and looked like rain all day, so I have a slim excuse for not mowing the yard or working on the weed beds. I could have dusted or cleaned, but I just did not feel like it. I guess I did do a load of towels! I even folded them and put them away, so the day was not a total bust.

Mostly I just watched TV: saved biographies from the BIO channel...Movies...Cooking shows. When the wife got home we went to see the new movie Killers. It was funny and entertaining fare. It will not win any Academy Awards (insert copyright), but was a nice diversion on a Saturday evening. When I got home I watched another movie on the boob tube. It was a completely wasted day.

I had a great time.

I notice I am cleaning my glasses a lot lately on my shirt tail. This really hit home when I was washing the cars last Saturday. Some people I know stopped by and I was standing on the curb talking to them in their truck. I reached up to clean my glasses and realized I was not wearing them. I guess I need to face reality that the blurriness I see with or without the glasses is not a case of greasy lenses, but poor vision.

I have had these glasses since late 2004 or early 2005. I know I had them before I started this piss-poor excuse for a blog. I know my current glasses need updated. Not only are they out of style, I need a stronger prescription and they are too wide for my face. I have dropped nearly 60 pounds in the past few years (I guess now I am smart -- right Dave?) and my face is now thinner too. If you have ever had to purchase bi-focals you know how expensive they can be. After the wedding next month I hope to see the eye quack.

How about doing this old blogger a solid? The wife has a birthday Tuesday. I will not say her age, but I will confirm she won't be fifty yet. You cannot be much closer, though. I have no idea what to get her. She has offered no ideas. She is not a fan of jewelry. Experience tells me I should not choose clothing. Since I do the cooking any kitchen ware would be for me. I am really truly stumped. The kids and I am taking her to dinner already. I will remember to get a card. I don't know, maybe she will get some flowers.

Have a great Sunday.

Shotgunning my thoughts

F-ing Cubs. Look, I know Lou Pinnella forgets more about baseball each night when he sleeps than I have ever learned. But can someone explain why we have a guy batting .161 hitting cleanup? Ramirez has not hit all year. This is not a slump. If you have to play him, at least put him where he cannot hurt you.

I had the misfortune to have to go to WalMart last night. I could tell the weather is getting warm. Let me be clear. Some of you people smell. You stink. You smell bad. take a shower. Since it was a Friday night some of you may get to that today, but hitting the tub after work may not be a bad idea for you the sake of your fellow citizens.

Speaking of showers, the wife is off to another Bridal Shower for my daughter today. I have to make a spinach dip in a bread bowl this morning in anticipation.Later, if the rain holds off, I may use the Roundup method of weed control in the big flower beds out front. I have to get that jungle tamed, even if it means sacrificing some lollies and daisies and other good plants.

RIP John Wooden. You were a great Hoosier, coach and man. You did it the "right" way.

This clip needs no comment:


h/t GOC

Have a great weekend.

Ramblin' Man

I got back late last night from another plane trip. That is three in three weeks. I feel like I am back at the old job, travelling four nights a week and flying some 100+ plane trips a year. Yep, you do the math.

I saw the usual assholes that seem to congregate in plane terminals these days. There was that one guy. You know him, mid-thirties, little dick/big watch type. He had on his flippity-flops and a visor. Of course, he had his shades propped up on the visor, you never know when the light will become uncommonly bright in the Charlotte-Douglass airport. Be, be , be prepared I always say. This guy was talking in that "I am really important voice" on his cellphone. He wanted everyone to know that even though he was dressed casual (visor and all) he was still on top of business.

In case we did not notice him, he walked up in down the terminal in front of the gates. He was mindlessly wandering up and down the walkway, stopping at random to to turn around, weaving slowly right and left. He was oblivious that other people might actually be trying to get to their flights or to baggage claim or just home. This dirtbag did not care that he stepped in front of golf carts, that he cut off old people. He walked right in front of strollers and travelers of all stripes. He was important, he was on the cell phone, he was probably named Joshua or David. Visor Guy did his "look at me" dance for about 15 minutes before deciding others in the airport needed to see how important he was. You will likely see him if you go to the mall this weekend. Kick him in the nuts for me...

An elderly guy sat next to me. He seemed flustered. He said he was coming in from Paris and his flight had been delayed. He asked me if he could borrow my cell phone to call his wife so she would not be worried when he did not arrive in Kansas City on time. I said sure. I showed him how to dial and call on my iPhone. He tried a few times and I could see he was flustered. I asked if I could help him. He said pleases, he was so tired he could not think. I placed the call for him. He sat in his seat, feeling no need to parade up and down the hallway while making his call. A while later he thanked me and moved on to his gate. I was worried about that Gentleman, he looked exhausted. I hope he got home OK.

I arrived at the old homestead around 11:00 PM. I was a little tired myself.

President Eggo Obama

Remember how the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz was confused about how to get to the Emerald City and pointed first one direction, then the next and finally pointed in two directions at once? That is how The Obama is starting to look. He said emphatically that the Feds were in charge of the BP oil spill. He assured us that the Government was calling the shots, that BP could not take a dump without his OK. I may have paraphrased that last part.

Now, The Governor of Louisiana is trying to do something to prevent disaster. The last Governor of Louisiana sat around and did nothing before Katrina, This guy wants to be proactive. He wants to build some sand barriers to protect the marshlands.

Now he is getting the runaround, BP says the Feds have to OK it, The Feds say BP has to OK it, the EPA says it might do harm to the environment. Those clueless bastards. Sand cannot possibly do more harm than f-ing OIL. Wait, the EPA are the same knuckleheads that claim our own breath should be regulated.

Just build the damn sand barriers. Someone, anyone, take charge. Bush may have been a lousy President but at least he could take a decision. Come on President Eggo Obama, do something. There is a pattern here. The Waffler in Chief took months to decide if he should follow his military leader's recommendation to send more troops to Afghanistan. It took months to decide what type dog to choose. Clearly decisions are tough for the old Eggo in charge.

One last word to the idiots that dressed up like plants and protested at a BP station in New York -- get a life. We are all concerned, but this kind of nonsense just makes you look stupid. That station owner has nothing to do with BP, he just sells their gas. He likely is not making much from fuel sales anyway. This is the equivalent of dressing up in a fish suit and protesting at Kroger because you oppose tuna fishing. Take a bath, get a job and stop being stupid hippy fucks.

Today's earworm

Classic

Why would they lie?

So let me get this straight. The White House asked President Clinton to go to Joe Stestack and try to get him to not challenge Arlan Specter for the Democrat Senate seat in Pennsylvania. They offered a non paying job on one of The Obama's advisory boards. A job he could not accept if he kept his seat in the House of Representatives?

The Obama Administration sent one of the most powerful men in the Democrat party to offer Sestack the political equivalent of a chicken bone if he would not eat the steak? What was the Administration holding back to sweeten the pot, a positions as Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 336, maybe Honorary Fundraising Chairman of the United Way of Washington County, manager of a Little League team?

Does anyone, of any political persuasion, believe this stupid story? The Obama Regime had three months and this pathetic fairy tale is the best they could think up? This makes the Watergate burglars look like friggin' geniuses.

Hope and change and transparency, indeed

Like you really care

Happy Tuesday. I hope you had a great long weekend and found a few minutes to thank those who have given their lives so we can live in the greatest country on Earth.

I got the yard mowed yesterday. The boy helped. He complained "Didn't we just do this last weekend"? I pointed out that it has to be done at least every week during the summer.

I decided to Bar-B-Q some chicken on the grill along with some grill potatoes. You spay some foil with PAM, chop a nice Vidalia onion. Cube a big chunk of cheddar or Colby Cheese and slice up a bunch of potatoes thin. Wrap the whole shebang in foil and cook on the grill for 45 minutes to an hour. Turn every so often. I had the spuds on the grill for about 1/2 hour and went out to turn them. Just as I open the grill the flames sputtered and went out. Damn it, I knew I was about out of gas. I put the spuds in the oven and grabbed the tank. I got it filled quickly, but supper was delayed and the timing was off. Anyhow, we had a great meal of chicken, potatoes and corn on the cob. The corn was not too bad for early spring Florida corn.

Just as we sat down the rains came in sheets. I got soaked just turning off the grill.

The oldest boy has finalized his tour schedule. He will be the opening act with a band from St. Louis hitting some bars and clubs in the Midwest. He will be gone about ten days. Playing music is how he wants to make a living and this will show him a glimpse of life on the road. My fear is that he will like it. He is already rumbling about quitting college to pursue music full time. I have tried to convince him that he needs a back-up plan and finishing college is essential. So far we are at a mild impasse. I think he knows I am right, but he really does not like school at all. Correction -- he likes being AT college, just not the studies and classes that go along.

Here is his schedule:

Muncie, IN, Ft Wayne, Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis. I do not have the exact dates or venues, but If you are interested shoot me an email. His musicianship and songwriting skills have improved dramatically.

Here is a link where you can get some of the tour schedule and hear some of his music. Let me know what you think -- even if you hate it. Me, I really think the tune Large Oceans is kind of catchy.

Don't tell him I sent you...