Oh yeah, he did mention something about that...

You cannot stand it that you have no idea what I was doing yesterday while on vacation. I know it is true. I suspect you sat around mumbling all evening, changing the channels in frustration, your attention span shortened, your temper kicking off with the slightest provocation. I am certain you tossed and turned all night, kicking the sheets and blankets off, pulling them over your head in an endless cycle of restless dozing.

Or maybe not.

Anyway, here is a brief musical interlude that hints at the events not far in my future:



Plus, it is always good to jam with The Animals

It is Trash Day in my neighborhood

I am on vacation today. I have important stuff to do. I rolled the garbage cans to the curb already. I drank one cup of coffee and ate a granola bar. I just poured another cuppa Joe. Later, I will be very busy doing very important, life changing stuff.

I wonder...

...how many Republicans truly have the courage of their convictions? I wonder how many of our modern politicians believe in their cause sufficiently to endanger their next election? Read the biographies of the antebellum Congressmen and Senators. Some were on the wrong side of history, some stood for principles in spite of heavy public pressure. But they stood by their convictions.

Congressional courage will be tested in the coming weeks.  Let the Democrats shut down the beast. Take the blame. Remember, almost 70% of the country does not like ObamaCare. We don't want it and this is last and best hope to kill it. For once, stand firm with a clear message -- "The Democrats forced this unpopular law on us, The Democrats are shutting down the Government."  Repeat every time a talking head shoves a microphone in your face with the conviction of a POW citing name, rank, and serial number.  Say no more and say no less and make sure every diarrhea mouth politician in the Party sticks to the short and simple two-line script.

They really hate you and wish you would die a slow painful death.

I have long maintained history never repeats. But we can learn lessons, and history never lies (historians do, that is another post, though). Lefties get outraged, they stamp their feet, cover their ears and mumble "na,na,na,na" when we point out the record of tyranny, murder, and misery perpetuated by the leftist governments in the past 100 or so years. The lessons of the French Revolution are ignored as mere excess. Yet the the height of the Reign of Terror saw French Society adopt every leftists' wet dream -- outlawing religion, class warfare on a grand scale, the rich losing their heads just for being rich, complete and total equality. Every citizen was guaranteed and equal outcome, not opportunity. The result was squalor, famine, and despotism. It was like Occupy Wall Street and the Haymarket riots and Mao and Joe Stalin combined in one bloody monumental failure.

But that could never happen in America. Our lefties are civilized, they only want the best for America.  Our Progressives only want to help the less fortunate. That is why they are using the IRS to target Americans who hold a different viewpoint. That is why we see lefties hoping Second Amendment supporter's kids get shot, like a professor in Kansas tweeted.  That is why Democrats wish those who oppose ObamaCare could be denied healthcare. 

No, Lefties in America would never succumb to the historical excesses imposed whenever progressive ideology has been implemented.  The previous sentence is dripping in sarcasm in case your screen does not recognize my custom sarcasm font.

Weekend observations

The wife and I made our way to Brown County, Indiana on Saturday afternoon. Nashville is a charming little tourist trap arts and crafts community. Mostly, I stood or sat around outside people watching while the wife fought the crowds in the shops and stores. The weather was pleasant and following her around was better than mowing the yard or cleaning the garage or doing other chores.

I will say this about the crowds; if every person walking the streets of Nashville in Harley garb actually owned a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, that company would be more valuable than Apple and there would be more black and orange badged cycles on the roads than cars built by GM.

Save the puppies!

What say you wish my big brother the happiest of birthdays today?

Hope you have a good one Otter.

Weekend Funny

A lady goes to the doctor and complains that her husband is losing interest in sex. The doctor gives her a pill, but warns her that it's still experimental. He tells her to slip into her husband's mashed potatoes at dinner. So that night she does just that.

A week later she is back at the doctor and and says "Doc, the pill worked great! I put it into his potatoes like you said. Not even five minutes later he jumped up, raked the dishes and food onto the floor, ripped off all of my clothes and ravished me right there on the table!"

The Doctor says, "I'm sorry, we did not realize the pill was so strong. The drug company will pay for the broken dishes and any damages."

"Nah", she says, "That's OK. We're not going back to that restaurant anyway."

Coffee and cartridges

See, here is the thing, if the Big Cheese at Starbucks decides that asking you not tote a gun onto his premises is the best thing for his business and stockholders, so be it. Buy your coffee elsewhere. Make it at home. Start your own coffee shop. You have options. Your rights are not being trampled here.

Variations on a theme

There should be a law...

Words fail me. Our perhaps it is the ability to form words. Or maybe I just don't know what the heck I am doing.

I have had this vague outline for a post rattling around in my brain for a long time now. I am frustrated in that I lack the ability to move my thoughts to paper electronic screen. It is, alas, a nostalgia post. Perhaps you enjoy those walks back through my own Vaseline-smeared lens of past reflection. More likely, you read a line or two and move on. Such is life in the blogging world.

My great-grandma Hoosierboy's house had a particular smell that I can sniff clearly in my brain but escapes description via letters and words. It was the smell of cooking grease, and pipe tobacco, and old people; all supported by a subtle, permeating odor of apples in the cellar. It is my failure to accurately depict that particular olfactory base that plagues me to no end.

I never imagined myself a good writer. I strike out more often than not. I have occasionally hit a solid single up the middle. A few times I succeed with a little bloop to shallow right. The post swirling unformed in my skull will take true Mantle-esque home run power, perhaps even juiced with steroids and a corked bat to succeed.  Unfortunately, that effort is far beyond my meager writing skills. I fear I will never put the unformed thoughts to electronic page and you will never have the option skip right over the words.

Can we check some facts?

Popular sentiment is the public punished the Republicans severely for shutting down the Government during the Clinton administration. But the losses in the following 1996 elections amounted to two seats in the House of Representatives. Republicans gained two seats in the Senate.  Clinton bowed under pressure to institute welfare reform and budget cuts, and Republicans maintained control of Congress. The result of the governmental shutdown was not the stinging rebuke from the electorate the media or Republican leadership would have us believe.

The media went apeshit and was mean to sitting Congressmen, but in the end, the shutdown had little effect on the Party and a significant effect on policy going forward. Clinton won the propaganda war, the Republicans won the policy war.  I will take that every time.

Dear Republican Party

I am sorry to put this in such stark terms. I am a conservative first, Republican second. It is time for for all Republicans to stand for your beliefs. Perhaps you should take a page from the Democrat playbook.  They took the opportunity to pass ObamaCare when they had a chance, despite the certainty it would cost the party seats in the House and Senate. Wrong-headed legislation was the result, but at least they stood by their political convictions. It is time to see if the Republican Party is the Party of Reagan or of  Rockefeller. If the Republican Party is really aiming to be Democrats-lite, it is time to find an organization that represents my political beliefs.

Too many Republicans, especially the leadership, are only interested in staying in power. During the last election top Republicans were livid over right-wing TEA Party types offering primary challenges to old-line Republican RINOs. I say better a Democrat than a Democrat-lite. Who wants RC when Coke is available?

You are faced with an opportunity to slow and or stop ObamaCare. Every Republican has paid lip service to ending this miserable legislation. Now it is time to put courage to your convictions. If this is not the issue to take a stand, then what is? At some point you must have principles, even if it means you may lose the next election. We sent you to Congress to represent the People, not the Party. Perhaps the leadership of the Republican Party failed to pay attention in history class. In the antebellum period the Whigs tried to straddle the slavery issue, mouthing platitudes, but never taking a firm stand, more interested in winning elections than doing the right thing. In case you have not noticed, there has not been a Whig Party for 150 years.

I am certain I speak for millions of Americans when I vow going forward I will vote only for candidates that represent my limited Government, free enterprise convictions -- regardless of party.  If that means I have to "waste" my vote on Libertarian legalize marijuana nut-jobs, so be it. If that means I "waste" my vote by choosing "none of the above", so be it. I would rather let a liberal win than vote for a moral political coward only interested in power, not principle. I will never hold my nose and choose the "lesser of two evils" again. After all, isn't that still a vote for evil?

UPDATE:
It looks like I am not alone when I say shut it down,  cut spending, defund the ACA. Most of you agree with me.

You want gun control?

Then how about we have Obama stop arming Mexican Drug Lords, and terrorist groups in Syria? I suspect not giving those killers weapons would have saved far more lives than the creation of a gun registry in America. Never running guns to Mexico is more likely to save lives than limiting magazines capacities at home.

If Obama had a son...

Some how, some way, I am certain the criminal, murderous SOB who shot up the Washington Naval Yard only did it to avenge St. Treyvon of Skittles.

Did Obama really pass the bar exam?

The Constitution is not a hard document to read or understand. Most first year law students can understand the separation of powers contained therein. Heck, most 9th grade civics students get it. Apparently, President Obama, despite being touted as a Constitutional Law Professor Instructor lecturer, has no understanding of the powers of the Legislative branch.

Congress is responsible for passing a budget. In addition, all spending bills must originate in the House of Representatives. (Article I section 7)(Article I section 8). In The Obama's narcissistic world, anyone not giving in to his desires is "thwarting Constitutional structure".  I maintain the only thwarting of the Constitutional structure that is going on in the budget process is the passing of  continuing resolutions (CR) in lieu of actually passing a budget.

Like it or not, Obama is not a dictator, nor a king. Straight from Mr. Wadell's ninth grade civics lectures: the Legislative Branch passes law, The Judicial Branch interprets law, the Executive Branch carries it out. As I said, it really should not be so hard for a graduate of Harvard Law to understand basic Constitutional structure. Too bad the ass-licking sycophant Stepolopugus did not have the brains, backbone, or integrity to call the President on this ridiculous quote.

Words fail me

I hoist a tall one to  a man I have read for almost ten years. I have lived vicariously through your adventures on sailboats, with Stretch, through life. You and your woman are in my prayers.

You will be missed.

Pining for a time I never knew

It is chilly again this morning, 43F at the time of this electronic scribbling. I spent yesterday trimming up some bushes and putting the finishing touches on a desk I am painting. It was a cheap wooden desk that was bright blue when it resided in my daughter's room back when she was in high school and middle school. Now it is black.

This morning I had the inexplicable urge to do some remodeling around the old blog. It was time for a change. Do not panic, I suspect after a few days the whole shebang will revert back to the simple layout you have come to to expect. In all seriousness, the hardest blog change I ever did was to move the blog roll from the left side to the right side.

What?  Oh, you want to know about the new blog title.  I have always regretted the original nom de journal I chose when I started this collection of rants, musings and trash. I have never been able to conjure a better blog title; one with zing and panache. I like the title of my other blog, the one I never use, but it does not sing to me either. Heck, I have issues coming up with post titles. I guess after eight years it is OK to change. Don't get too used to it, though.

My personality is bent toward nostalgia. I have dined on a couple of occasions at old supper clubs, One in Wichita and one near Dayton. The faded elegance spoke to me of a time gone by, where highballs, martinis, and fine steaks were enjoyed and digested to the accompaniment of dance bands and recordings of Frank and Ella. Where the dulcet toes of Nat King Cole provided a background to the laughter and enjoyment of a night out on the town. The supper club image hails to a time in my mind when men wore suits to dinner and ladies sported furs over their shoulders and long gloves with their strapless dresses, sparkling with sequins.

Then the baby boomers and f-ing hippies ruined it all. The supper clubs became public restaurants, the nightclubs turned into discos. Country clubs became snack bars. The Moose, and Elks, and Eagles are mere bars, where they even still exist. Men do not wear suits to work, hats are replaced with ball caps. Nike T-shirts and jeans are the accepted costume of the day. We have become a society built for comfort. We interact more with our fellow man than ever, but the art of personal contact is slowly being lost in the clutter of electronic communication.

September 14

Happy Birthday to my daughter. You may be 27, but you will always be my little girl.

Happiest Place on Earth

Now we can get something done

Since Putin has bailed The Obama out of the foreign policy mess the President and his idiot SecState created, maybe we can get the Russians to get our economy moving, do something about unemployment and start building the Keystone XL pipeline.

It is a sad damn day when we have to look to the fucking Ruskies for world leadership.  We really are living in Jimmah Carter's third term.