You Can't Dabble In Crap ...

Earlier this week, I read an

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http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cm/content/view/369/162/

editorial on CapitolHillBlue.com in which Doug Thompson chastised some of his readers who had taken Schadenfreude in the reoccurrence of Tony Snow’s cancer. Doug is absolutely correct in calling those readers down. No reasonable person would wish something so tragic on even the likes of Bush, Cheney or Rumsfield and they certainly should not be happy when it happens to the administration's "press agent". After I read Doug’s editorial I asked myself what makes people act in this way? What brings out this kind of callousness? Some blame it on the anonymity of the Internet. Using a screen name or pseudonym, you call say pretty much anything on the Internet without letting people know who you are. I know that is the case, but all that does is enable. To be willing to say these things or type these things; first you must be thinking them. Therefore I say that the Internet does not cause this kind of mean-spiritedness, it only gives it a venue.

To find a cause for this insensitive boorish behavior you have to look deeper. One of the first things that came to my mind was an old saying my daddy had. He said “You can’t dabble in crap and not get some of it on you.” Really, he didn’t use the word crap, but I’m trying to clean up my act online a bit so I will spare yall the S word. A similar philosophy is presented in the statement; you become like the people and things with which you associate. I could throw out a lot of examples right here, but I am sure that you get the idea.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that there is a place in this world for everyone and everything. I’m certainly not in favor of a lot of laws regulating behavior. But, I will say this; if you spend your time watching network news, reading the stuff in the newspaper and listening to what the politicians and bureaucrats are harping about, you probably won’t end up being canonized by the Catholic Church. Think about it.

Alice's Restaurant

If you are over 50 and have about 25 minutes to spare, you will probably enjoy this:



By the way, Arlo Guthrie is exactly one day older than I am.

I've Got Bad News And Good News

First the bad news. Our once great American republic has become an empire to the rest of the world and a police state for its own citizens. When I was young, one of the principles of law in this country was every man is innocent until proven guilty. While that principle may still be given lip service, in fact standing operating practice is, given the slightest provocation, every man is a drug dealing terrorist. This is an example of what I am talking about. This kind of thing is becoming all too common. For every instance that we learn about, you can be assured that there are a couple of dozen more that get covered up successfully because there are not any witnesses. This shift of our police from "public servants" who protect and serve to "law ENFORCEMENT officers" has been due in no small part to the para-military training so many police have received in the name of the war on drugs and the war on terror. Years ago, I heard Gordon Liddy talking about S.W.A.T. teams on the radio. He said that when you dress men up in those black jump suits and train them like they are soldiers sooner or later they are gonna put that training to use, often times in situations where it is not appropriate. As for the empire side of it, any country that has troops permanently stationed in over 100 other countries and that actively engages in "regime change" in the countries that do not agree with its policies, must be called an empire.

Now the good news. We are a bankrupt, debtor nation. All that stands between third world status and us is the reluctance of China and Japan to call in their financial markers. China alone owns over 1 Trillion dollars in US debt. We have exported our industry overseas. A sizeable portion of our GDP during the last few years has been due to a Ponzi scheme in real estate construction and finance. That real estate bubble is slowly beginning to collapse. That does not sound like good news you say? Well it may not be great news but in it lies the seeds of our redemption. You see, it takes megabucks to run a police state / empire. We are rapidly approaching the point where the Federal Government will no longer be able to fund their idiotic schemes. Most of the good people who now are manning the police state / empire will be forced back into the private sector for economic reasons. It will be a painful comeuppance to many of us, but just like the little kid who is punished for stealing cookies from the cookie jar or pushing his little brother or sister down, we will learn a valuable lesson.

Universal Health Care

I hear a lot today about Universal Health Care. Al Franken, who is running for senator from Minnesota, was on Late Night with David Letterman the other night He said that his number one campaign issue is the need for Universal Health Care. Actually, the problem is not with getting health care; the problem is with paying for it. Many people want the government to step in and do something about the problem. Well, the government has already stepped in many years ago and that is the reason we have the problems we have today. Government regulation and the insurance system brought about by government regulation are the reason health care is unaffordable.

When the late Harry Browne was running for president, he quoted some figures that indicated that the average older American paid a smaller percentage of their overall income before Medicare than they do now and had better care. Old people say, oh I could not afford to pay for my health care if it were not for Medicare. Younger people say that I could not afford to pay for my health care if I did not have insurance. They could if government regulations did not make health care unreasonably costly.

Occasionally I hear someone say that the cost of health care is lots more expensive now because of all the technology that we have today that they did not have in the past. It does not work that way. Technology does not make things more expensive, it in fact, reduces cost. If you don't believe it, look at the price of the original home PC and what it did. Now look at the price of a new Dell and what it will do. Why is that? It is because the government does not regulate the computer industry. No, technology is not increasing prices; the expense associated with government regulation and insurance is what causes our medical cost to be out of sight.

If Mr. Franken and all the other politicians really want to make health care affordable for all Americans they need to work to get the government out of our health care system instead of calling for more government intervention. The government has never fixed anything. The late Harry Browne described the situation best when he said all the government is good for is to come in and break your legs, hand you a pair of crutches and say “look, without us you would not be able to walk.”

Trademarks and Copyrights

I for one think that trademark and copyright law has gotten out of hand in the United States. I've thought that for quite some time but when I read this article, I knew it was time to holler "calf rope." Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with the Latter Day Saints Church (Mormons.) In fact I've yet to meet a Mormon that I did not like. They all seem to be nice folks and I have several Mormon relatives. So I'm not taking a swipe at them because of any bias. The LDS says that Moroni is an angel of God but yet they say that they have him trademarked. Now, somebody explain to me, how do you trademark and angel of God? What's next? Will the Catholics trademark the Virgin Mary? Will the Southern Baptist trademark Jesus? Will the Jews claim that they saw God first and trademark him? Are we approaching the point where I have to say that I believe in the unspecified deity that is the son of the one and only supreme unspecified deity so as not to run afoul of the trademark laws?

Why the decider won't accept a timeline

First, let me say that it is unconstitutional for the Congress to be specifying a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. I think that the Constitution defines that as a job for the President. The Congress can withhold funds. They can vote to revoke approval for the war, but they don't have the constitutional authority to dictate a timeline.

Of course none of that means anything because the Congress, the Courts and the President have all shown repeatedly that they don't give a tinker's damn about the Constitution. For the most part, the Democrats in Congress have no more interest in ending the war in Iraq than do the Republicans.

Now, back to my original topic, Why the decider won't accept a timeline. He and his buddy Cheney will tell you that it has to do with not undermining the mission. Or they will say that we can't specify a date because we are gonna stay in Iraq for as long as it takes to make it free and safe. Those excuses have nothing to do with it. The reason that the decider won't accept a date for withdrawal is that he never intends to bring our troops home. The USA is building permanent bases in Iraq. The powers that be, whether its the decider right now, or God forbid, Hitlery in the not too distance future, intend for US troops to be a permanent fixture in Iraq, just as they are in Korea, Japan, Germany and 137 other countries around the world. With any luck at all, they will not get their wish, but you can bet the farm that they are sure gonna try.

TEETH!

The bottom two are coming in.

Which Is The Greater Sin?

Which is the greater sin, gambling or stealing? I don't feel theologically qualified to answer that question. I do however have an opinion on which is worse. To me stealing is worse. After all, gambling is voluntary. Stealing takes from people via stealth or threat of violence.

I have heard some people say that there are no such things as greater sins or lesser sins. Sins are sins. Maybe so, but I have also heard that some churches teach that masturbation is a sin. I can tell you for a fact that if I am given the option of someone playing with himself or having him steal from me, I would choose the former, although I would prefer to not have to witness the act myself. It may be just as great a sin, but the effects are not as profound for me.

Of course this all leads me to ask the question how can some people support taxation and denounce legalized gambling. After all, taxation is theft. It is the taking, by force of money that would not otherwise be given. Some would say, well it is necessary for the greater good. Of course I can make the same claim for legalized gambling. States that allow it have more money to use for education just like states that allow higher taxes.

From my point of view, if you oppose legalized gambling on the grounds that it is a sin, yet you support taxation because it is for the greater good, you are just splitting hairs.

A Neat Desk

I once had a plaque that said "A Neat Desk Is The Sign Of A Sick Mind." It was given to me by a friend, probably as a left-handed compliment. After I read this article I now realize that all those folks who found fault with my desk-keeping skills were actually just serving to make me less productive.

We're From The Government

When I read

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this article. I was immediately reminded of something the Late Harry Browne said when he was running for President. All the governement is good for is to break your legs, then hand you a pair of crutches and say, see without us, you would not be able to walk.

Free To Choose

Being a libertarian, I advocate that everyone be free to choose his or her lifestyle without interference so long as it does not impact the lifestyle of others in a negative way. When I say impact in a negative way, I mean a real impact, not some imagined one like you saying "cracker" hurts my feelings.

Feeling that way, I respect the right of these people to live like they have chosen, but they are pretty far out in left field. Granted, this guy is doing this only as an experiment, only for one year, and apparently to obtain a book deal. So, this may be more of a gimmick than anything else may. However, during my lifetime, I have known many people who have gone off on just such a tangent. To me, this is an act of self-flagellation. Something deep down in some peoples psyche seems to demand that they suffer.

Ron Paul on FOX BYA

"I wanna be President because I have this dream, I'd like to reinstate the Constitution and restore the Republic," said Paul. "And I think the Republican party and all of Washington have lost their way."



read more | digg story

Sixth-Graders Smarter Than Al Gore

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These Longmont Six-Graders are smarter than Al Gore.

Interview With Congressman Ron Paul

Check it out here.

PETA and GreenHouse Gas

Jim Amrhein in this article for Whiskey and Gunpowder tells how PETA's most recent ad campaign helps show up "man-made global warming" for the ridiculous idea it really is.

Tobacco Money

I was over at Linda's this morning and she had the TV on CNN. A couple of guys were talking about how the states had spent their "Tobacco Money", that is the money they got from suing the tobacco companies. They were extolling the fact that all the public service ads had reduced the amount of smoking but now that the money had run out, smoking among teens was on the rise.

Hindsight being 20/20, I thought about it a bit and figured out what would have been a better use for the tobacco money. What if, instead of running ads to stop people from smoking, they had used that money to run ads to keep people from going into politics? After all, smoking only shortens life; politics makes a life worthless. What if people like George Bush and Hillary Clinton had seen public service ads in their youth that steered them away from politics? What if George had chosen a career in stand up comedy? He can be really funny, if you doubt that, watch Late Night with David Letterman sometime. The Great Presidential Speeches segment is hilarious. And what about Hillary, don't you think that she would have made a fairly good 5th grade social studies teacher? I'm pretty sure that if neither of these people had entered politics, the world would be a better place.

Sure, the anti-tobacco ads have added a few years to the end of some lives, but which is worse, to live 5 years less than you could have, or to waste your entire life in politics?

Using Digg to Pass the Read The Bills Act (RTBA) in 3 Easy Steps.

No group is better positioned to place the right kind of pressure on our representatives than Diggers. It's our destiny to start making a difference in the way things are run, and I propose we get the ball rolling.



read more | digg story

You can be a Christian or an Environmentalist but not both

Read this article by John M. Ostrowski and you will see what I mean.

Kinda Reminds Me Of Nixon

Doesn't

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this remind you of what Nixon said when the Watergate tapes were subpoenaed?

The Law

As I have said before, the idea of a "law abiding citizen" in today's United States is a myth. Our legal system, our laws, bureaucratic regulations, etc. have become so complex ,and even contradictory in some cases, that it is virtually impossible to be completely law abiding. However, even though it is impossible to obey the laws of the land, no one is above the law. No one, including the President of the United States, can place his or her self above the laws of the land. If a law is bad, and many of them are, they need to be amended or repealed, but so long as they are on the books, they are the law. For the President to say that he does not have to obey the law because he is acting for the greater good of the American people just doesn't cut it. His number one job as head of the executive branch of government is to uphold the laws. If he does not understand that, he does not deserve to have the job of President.

Sal Hepatica Cures Blindness

When I was about 10 years old, my father owned a Plymouth Business Coupe. I am not sure what year model his was. I do know that it was an older car and was not our primary vehicle at that time. It did not have a backseat, only an area behind the front seat where you could store things. There was room back there for kids to ride squatted down, which I did on occasion.

One Saturday, my father and I took our 22 rifles and went down to my grandfather's house in the business coupe. I don't think we were going hunting per se, but we were going to go walking in the woods and took the rifles "just in case." When we got down to my grandfather's and picked him up, he sat in the passenger seat, my father drove and I stood on the running board since the guns occupied the space behind the seat. He drove us the couple of miles on to the location where we were going to walk in the woods. After some walking around we headed back to my grandfather's house, again with me standing on the running board. As we drove up into my grandfather's yard, I put my foot down to step off the running board a little before the car came to a complete stop. That was a big mistake. My foot caught and I was flipped heels over head onto the side of the drive and landed on the back of my head in between two big outcroppings of flint rock. I was knocked unconscious but I was not out. Instead, I jumped up and started running around unaware and dazed. I don't remember any of the running but was told of it later. When I regained consciousness, I was sitting in my grandfather’s bedroom in front of the fireplace and my father, grandfather and grandmother were all talking to me. I was totally blind.

After some discussion, they determined that I should be taken home and watched to see what happened. Later, I recall sitting at my place at our kitchen table. Somehow my parents had decided that what I needed was a dose of Sal Hepatica. They mixed it up and put it in front of me to drink. I did not like the taste and resisted drinking it but they insisted. Finally I was able to choke it down. Over the next couple of hours, I gradually began to be able to discern light and shadow and by later that evening my sight had completely returned. After that I have always said that Sal Hepatica cures blindness. Some folks say it doesn't but all I know is I was blind, I took Sal Hepatica, then I could see.

For years, I thought that Sal Hepatica was like Alka Seltzer and that my parents were giving it to me for my headache. Recently I discovered that it was in fact a laxative. Maybe they thought that all that was wrong with me was I was full of crap. From what I have heard from many of my acquaintances over the years, there have been several other times when a dose of Sal Hepatica might have been in order for what was wrong with me.

How to End the War Tomorrow

I know how we can end our part of the war in Iraq tomorrow, maybe even before 5:00 this afternoon. All we have to do is put the nation on a war footing. (1) Immediately begin rationing Gasoline, Diesel and other petroleum products. (2) Suspend all amateur and professional athletic competitions until after the war is ended. That would include NCAA, NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL and NASCAR. (3) Redirect all alcohol for war energy use. No beer, wine or whiskey for sale to the public. (4) Ration meat, sugar, and chocolate. (5) Limit the amount of electricity that can be used for TV, video games, and computers to one hour per person per day.

I guarantee that if we do these 5 things, the US participation in Iraq will come to a screeching halt.

GEICO

I have GEICO car insurance. I have for years, but if I didn't, I would switch to it simply because of these caveman commercials. I love these things. This one is the best yet"

A Word Of Advice

A word of advice to all you global warming alarmist out there. Put off your marches and demonstrations until mid July. You will come off looking a lot better than you do in the picture included in this article. It is not too effect to be harping about global warming when you are dressed up like a native Alaskan and standing in snow.

I've Never Been A Big Fan

I've never been a big fan of Donald Trump, but its hard not to like someone who gigs Rosie O'Donnell and tells it like it is about the folks in power.

The Emporer Has No Clothes

I just watched an interview of Rocky Anderson, Mayor of Salt Lake City, on a news network. I won't say which network because they seem to have figured out a way to make it impossible to link to their videos so I won't give them any advertising. I will say that Wolf Blitzer conducted the interview so I know you know where to go look.

Mr Anderson, who is an outspoken critic of President Bush, made a call for Mr. Bush's impeachment at a antiwar rally broadcast on C-span last Saturday. Wolf started out his interview of Mr. Anderson by reading him what the constitution says about impeachment. Then he asked Anderson what he thought Bush had done that justified impeachment based on that criteria. To me it seemed like asking which hair around a dog's ass is the longest? Who cares, it all has dog crap on it. Mr. Anderson settled on the use of the aluminum tube, yellow cake information to justify invading Iraq. He said that the State Department said the information was wrong and the CIA said it was correct and that should have been enough to raise a question. Apparently Mr. Anderson was starting to make a point because the (insert name of unmentionable network here) cut him off in mid sentence.

It never ceases to amaze me what the politicans and news media can come up with in this country to distract the population from the real questions at hand. I am relatively certain that Bill Clinton was guilty of numerous impeachable offences and yet the dumbass Republicans choose to go after him for getting a hummer from a intern. Bush has raped the constitution and the bill of rights and Wolf Blitzer has the cajones to ask the mayor of Salt Lake City what he thinks the president has done that could justify impeaching him.

This Kid Pissed Off Everybody

But his
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"http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070319/pl_nm/usa_students_rights_dc_3

case has made it to the Supreme Court. Obviously the liberals are mad because he used the name of Jesus and the conservatives are mad because he made a reference to smoking marijuana. We'll see what the Supreme Court has to say about it sometime between now and the end of June.

The truth of the matter is that in this country now days, the majority of people are not in favor of free speech. What they are in favor of is the right of people to speak freely about the things that they, the listener, think is proper. Since the country is pretty well divided between folks who think of themselves as liberals and folks who think of themselves as conservatives, no one is free to say what they think without offending someone.

We will only have free speech when anyone is free to say what ever they want and the people who object to what they are saying have the right to not listen.

If You Are In The Stock Market

If you have some of your assests or retirement funds invested in the stock market, you might want to checkout

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this article. If it is correct, now might be a good time to shift out of the market. Personally, I have had my puny little IRA rolled over into a money market fund for several months. If you are interested in shorting the market, there are some exchange traded funds that do that. You can google "ETF short index" and come up with some ideas. One that I have added to my sharebuilder account is DOG. It shorts the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Average.

A Good Bible Search Engine

I've found what I believe is a very good bible search engine at biblegateway.com . It has 21 different English translations and many others in different languages. I know that somewhere out there some critic of mine is asking the question, "What do you need a bible search engine for , you don't believe in the bible?" Well, you are wrong. I never said I don't believe in the bible. I said that I don't believe that the bible is the inerrant word of God. There is a difference. I won't get into the discussion of that difference here, but suffice it to say, believing that way makes the availability of a good bible search engine even more worthwhile.

WWJD

A few years back, I started seeing bumper stickers with WWJD on them. Here in the Birmingham area we have or at least had a radio station whose call letters were WJLD. At first I mistook the stickers for those of the radio station. Then, when I got some new glasses, I realized that the letters were WWJD instead of WJLD. Being somewhat naive, I still though this was a bumper sticker for a radio station. Then I found out that the letters stood for "What would Jesus Do?" Sort of a guideline for Christians. When presented with a situation, just ask yourself, what would Jesus do?

I have some friends that apparently still think that George W. Bush hung the moon. A couple of weeks ago I got an email from one of them that described something that Bush had done as being "Christ-like." I know that George W. Bush says he is a Christian and I will take his word for it, but I don't think that he asks himself WWJD very often. When I read this article I asked myself WWJD. I did not come up with the same answer that it appears that Mr Bush and Mr Cheney did.

Our Tax Dollars At Work

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070316/ap_on_re_us/passport_problems_1

All of this because some idiot in the government says that having everyone show a passport is going to cut down on terrorist entering the country. What about all those illegals coming across the Rio Grande? Are they showing a passport? If you were a terrorist would needing a passport stop you? You would probably either (A) come across the Rio Grande without a passport, (B) Buy an excellent forgery, which for a price is probably available in days not weeks, or (C) get some pickpocket in London to sell you a legit one from a tourist that matches your description.

Of course, the jackasses that came up with this know all that. Again its not about safety, or terrorism. Its about control. Back when they were called public servants, it was "we are from the government and we are here to help." Now it is "we are agents of the government. Do as we say or you can expect to spend years in prison."

Jim Rogers' U.S. Property Prediction

Noted investor, Jim Rogers says "You can't believe how bad it's going to get before it gets any better." He also said, "When you have a financial crisis, it reverberates in other financial markets, especially in those with speculative excess." Seems like he thinks that the busting real estate bubble is gonna take a lot of other things down with it. Maybe its time to look at DOG, SH and PSQ.

The Walking Trees

In my younger days, I used to tell a story, usually when I had been drinking. I don't know the exact origin of the story. May have been something I read or maybe it was just the result of alcohol delusion. The one thing I do remember was that it always pissed my wife off when I started to tell it. The story went like this:

Once, many years ago, there were no people, only trees. Back then trees were not rooted in the ground. They walked around as people do today. Gradually there became more trees and more trees until finally there was no room for the trees to walk around. They put down roots and stayed in one place. Now there are people. At first there were not many people but gradually there are more people and more people.

That is where the story always ended. I can't remember for sure if that was because there was no more to it, or if that is when my wife would say "would you stop telling that stupid story."

What my story represented was a saturation point. A point where a process can no longer go in the direction that it has been going. This morning I have read some articles that go me to thinking about that story. First I read Dr Donald Miller's story about global warming and then I read an article about proposed congressional legislation to outlaw incandescent light bulbs. Both of these stores brought to mind the need for additional bureaucracy to administer the changes they call for. We already have no dearth of bureaucracies in this world so it would seem that a couple of more would probably go unnoticed. But, like the trees in my story, they reach a saturation point. With bureaucracies, its not a question of not being able to move around, but more a question of where does the money come from to pay for them?

Our county has been and is loosing jobs and industry. I read the other day that 40% of all income in the United States is from the government. Either direct government jobs or indirectly from contractors to the government. Since the government produces no money of its own, that means that the 60% of the workers that are productive are having to cover their own costs and also pay the cost of the other 40% paid by the government. When you add a couple of more bureaucracies to handle ration cards and light bulbs, and loose a couple of more manufacturing plants to Mexico and China, the percentages slip somemore. Pretty soon 50% of the people will be paying for themselves and also paying for the other 50% working for the government, then 40% will be paying for themselves and also paying for the other 60%... etc. etc. etc.

It has taken this country 231 years to get to this point although most of this has happened in the last 94 years (since 1913). I suspect that the process is speeding up, like a snowball rolling down hill. How much longer do we have before 100% of the people are dependent upon the government for all their income and where will that money come from?

Its not about the Environment, Its about Control and Money

When you read this article by Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD pay particular attention to the sixth paragraph from the bottom. For you mathmatically challenged types, I have quoted it below:

Gore barely mentions the Kyoto Protocol in his film and says nothing about what sacrifices people will have to make in order to reduce CO2 emissions. He does say, however, that combating CO2-induced global warming will take a commitment similar to what the country had to make to win World War II. At some point in this climate war the government will ration CO2 and issue "carbon credits" – CO2 ration cards. In World War II Americans had to have the appropriate ration card to purchase gasoline, tires, coffee, sugar, meat, and shoes; a certificate to purchase a stove; and an authorization for vacation travel. At the height of the War on CO2 global governance, which only a socialist state can provide, will be required to rein in CO2 emissions, with international inspectors at one’s doorstep prosecuting and confiscating property of people and industries that make "greedy [CO2-producing] choices," like using an air-conditioner and driving a SUV.

If you read the entire article, you will see that (1) global warming and cooling has virtually nothing to do with anything man is doing. (2) Gore and his crowd stand to make a lot of money off "controlling global warming." (3) Since we are in a warming cycle that is probably due to last until the year 2250 or maybe even 2400, the steps that the "global warming fighters" propose will continue to become ever increasingly draconian.

The Next President

I have been saying this for a while. Looks like someone else believes the same thing.

This News Report Reminds Me Of A Story

When I read the last line of

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this news article I was reminded of a story one of my supervisors once told me.

It seems that there was once a man who insisted that he was dead. His family argued with him but to no avail. Finally, being very concerned with his mental state, they insisted that he go see a doctor. He agreed to their requests. The doctor tried to reason with the man that he was not dead, but the man continued to insist that he was dead. Finally, the doctor asked the man, "Do dead men bleed?" The man said no, dead men don't bleed. With that, the doctor took a pin and pricked the mans finger and a drop of blood appeared. The man looked at the doctor and said, I was wrong, dead men do bleed.

It also reminds me of a plaque which that same supervisor had on his desk. It said "My mind is made up, don't try to confuse me with facts."

Political Correctness

I just read this definition of Political Correctness in a newsletter from "The Mogambo Guru." He attributes it to one of his readers, Phil S.

"Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end”.

Now why can't I come up with great stuff like that?

Homonyms

Homonyms aggravate the crap out of me. I'm always using the wrong one in the wrong place. One particularly troublesome set is (their, there, they're). I find that when I am proof reading anything I've written (yes, I do actually proof read, bet you never guessed it) that over half of the "theirs" should be "theres" and vis versa.

Well I've come up with a solution. From now on, I think I will use "thr" in place of (their, there, they're). Mostly in place of the first two; I really don't use the contraction "they're" that much in writing.

So from now on, thr are gonna be a lot of people reading thr emails from me and wondering if thr actually seeing what they think thr seeing.

ALDI

Several years ago, I became aware of a no frills grocery chain named ALDI. If you go to their website, you will see that they are a worldwide store. They do several things to cut costs.

For one thing, they rent shopping carts, although rent is not actually the correct term. Its more like a deposit system. All of their shopping carts are chained together in front of the store. Each chain device has a slot that releases the chain when you insert a quarter. When you are finished with the cart, you return it to the front of the store, reinsert the chain and get your quarter back. This keeps them from having to have someone clear the parking lot of carts.

Another thing is they don't provide bags. They have bags for sale if you need them, but they encourage customers to bring their own bags. They have counters where people can go and bag their groceries, but I choose to take the cart to the car, bag the groceries at the car and then return the cart.

Their last cost cutting measure that I will mention is their use of store brands. They do have some nationally advertised brands, but most of their merchandise consists of store brands. They maintain that the quality is as good as highly advertised national brands, but they are able to sell for less due to not having the advertising costs.

When I first became aware of ALDI, there was not one in Alabama. There were a couple in Kentucky along the route of the World's Longest Yard Sale. I stopped in an shopped at them. Since I was away from home, there was a limit to what I could buy and utilize. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that ALDI now has two store in Alabama. One is in Gadsden, the other in Bessemer. Last Monday, I went an bought groceries at the one in Bessemer. I was pleased with the items I bought. Yesterday (Monday) I went back for a second trip. I restocked on some of the items I had bought previously and liked. I also extended my range of items by getting a few more things to try.

Its not for everyone. The store itself is small, more like some of the grocery stores of my youth. They only have one checkout line in operation and you can be certain of having to stand in line, but you can also be assured that the line moves fast. I have read that they only take cash, however I think that at the one in Bessemer they must take something else, like debit cards, because the checker always asks if this is a cash sale.

I have not done an extensive cost comparison, and people who live any distance away would have to make allowances for fuel costs, but so far, it seems to me that I get a great deal more for my money at ALDI than I do at other grocery stores.

Question Authority

I got an email this morning from a friend entitled, "What Kind Of Man Would Do Such A Thing." It describes an incident told in a story by "Sergeant Major of the Army Jack Tilley." You can read the story from the message at snopes.com .

Kind of uplifting, especially if you are a George Bush fan, unfortuantely it is an embelishment of what really happened. Of course readers of this blog, all 4 of you, know that I don't particularly approve of Mr. Bush, but even if I did, I always question this sort of story. The first thing I do when I read something like this is to check snopes.com. It's not because I don't like Mr. Bush. It is because he is in a position of authority and I know that people with authority must be watched, questioned and held accountable. That is true for all people with authority. When Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely", he hit the nail on the head. I don't care who you are talking about, whether it is the president of a county, the governor of a state, the probate judge or commissioner of a county, the mayor of a town or the president of your local little league association, you need to watch them. If they do something that does not seem right, it probably isn't.

Some of my friends call me a cynic. They say I don't believe in anything. Well, they are wrong, I do believe that mankind in general is good. I believe that the average joe walking down the street is a good person, but give him a little authority and the worst that is in him will pop to the surface. For my friends who love to quote the bible, remember the bible says that God created man in his own image. "In his own image"... all that means is that mankind is created to look like God. If you take a turd and shape it to look like a fudge brownie, it is still a turd. Maybe I am a cynic?

I Have Been Wrong

For years I have been saying that we did not accomplish anything in Vietnam. That is wrong. What I should say is that we did not accomplish anything positive in Vietnam. Obviously we did accomplish some things. For one, we ruined Billy Walkabout's life.

How many Billy Walkabouts are in Iraq right now?

E911 in Coosa County

For several months now Coosa County has been working on implementing an enhanced 911 system. It would appear from the articles and letters in the March 9th issue of the Coosa County News that they may be the first location in the country where implementation of E911 takes lives instead of saving them. I say that because the headline of the paper was "Sparks fly over E911 Issues". Seems they had a heated meeting that turned into a full scale argument about implementation. If that wasn't enough, another article reports that one of the county commissioners had been arrested for assault. Seems he and the Kellyton Fire Cheif got in fist fight over, you guessed it, E911. In the letters to the editor section of the paper, there was a letter of apology from the County E911 chairman for loosing control of the March 1st meeting and for loosing his temper.

I think maybe Coosa County ought to give up on this E911 thing before someone gets hurt.

Environmentalism

President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic says that

[DEAD LINK]
http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/czech_pres_environmentalism_is_a_religion/20070309-060020-3030r/

environmentalism is a religion. I have been saying that same thing for years. Back when I was growing up we had conservation. That was a good thing. Conservation tried to protect the natural environment. Environmentalism is more concerned with a political adgenda than with helping mother nature.

Low Ratings

Could it be that this program did not attract any viewers because people intuitively know that global warming and global cooling have been going on since time started. All this talk about masses of concerned citizens is probably a bunch of propganda just like the talk of a scientific concensus.

The propagandist hope to talk about this subject long enough so they can get people to believe that there is actually something to it. So far, I don't think it is working, in spite of what the talking heads say.

Upgrading To Vista?

I guess it will be awhile before I upgrade to Vista. In fact it will probably be awhile before I upgrade to XP. Right now I am using a W98se machine. To be perfectly honest, I currently have it booted up with a live-cd version of PCLinuxOS. I can do virtually everything I need to do with the old PII W98se machine. I do have a newer, faster, P4 machine that I bought used with W2K installed. I have it hooked up and running beside the W98se machine. I currently use a KVM switch so I can toggle back and forth between the two. I am gradually moving my data and favorite applications to the P4 machine. You might say that I am highly into "mature" technologies.

Buying An Automobile

My father, who was a mechanic for over 40 years, used to say that you should never buy the cheapest model of any car. They don't hold their value as well as the slightly more upscale models. He also said to not get a lot of extra stuff on a car because eventually it is gonna go wrong and be an expensive pain in the ass to repair. I certainly think that this qualifies as one of those things he was warning against:

Legislature Pay Raise

Well this takes a load off my mind. I certainly wouldn't want our fine bunch of legislators to do without money?! Sixty Percent , where I come from we would call that a pretty good raise. Of couse we would like to pay them what they are really worth, but no one has invented negative value money yet.

Will History Repeat Itself

In 1972, Gerald Ford was not someone who looked like he would be the next President of the United States. Then Spiro Agnew was forced to resign as Vice President and President Nixon nominated Ford who was approved by the congress. As everyone knows, when Nixon resigned, Ford became president. Now, it appears possible that health concerns might force

[THIS LINK NO LONGER POINTS TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE]
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cm/content/view/155/162/

Vice President Cheney to consider resigning or the stress of the office could "resign" for him.

Should that happen, who would Bush nominate for the office of Vice President? At least two articles that I have read say Condi Rice. I have thought that the one thing standing between "W" and impeachment is the fact that Dick Cheney would become president. If he steps down or succombs to his health problems, could Condi Rice be the next Gerald Ford? It would be a real touch of irony if the first President of the United States from the State of Alabama was a black woman.

Optomists or Idiots?

We Americans are either the most optomistic bunch of people in the history of the world or the biggest idiots. How else can you explain the results of this CBS News Poll?

Actually I am not referring so much to the poll itself as I am the statement in the last paragraph. That being "Most Americans believe government can play a role in fixing the health care system." Why would they think that the government could fix anything? This is like a man who starts new businesses for a living. Everytime he starts one and gets it running, he turns it over to his idiot cousin who immediately ruins it. Government is that idiot cousin. Everything they try to run gets screwed up.

Now I admit that we have some health care and insurance issues in this country, but who in their right mind would think that the government could straighten it out. If the whole truth was known, government meddling is the primary cause of most of the health care problems we have today. Back when the late Harry Browne was running for President, he said that the figures indicate that elderly Americans spent a smaller percentage of their overall income for healthcare before Medicare was started, and had better care. I did not take the time to check the figures for myself but I believe that Harry Browne was an honest man and I think that he spoke the truth.

Based on what I know, if we expect the government to cure our healthcare problems, we have to be optomists or idiots, you can decide for yourself which we are.

Dodge Automatic Transmission

Last year I came to the realization that it was time for me to buy a new (as in new to me, not brand new) vehicle. The Nissan pickup that I was driving as my primary vehicle was accumulating a lot of miles. Plus, with the birth of my grandson, I needed something with a backseat so I could have a place for his carseat. Being a pickup man at heart and having had good luck with my Nissan pickup, I first started looking for a late model used Nissan Frontier 4 door Crew Cab. Soon I discovered that all of them are equiped with the V-6 engine which has a timing belt. I have owned a couple of cars with timing belts, but I don't like it. Give me a good old chain, not as much chance of breaking.

With the Nissan out of the picture, my next choice was a pickup with a compression ignition engine (what we all call a diesel.) I did some research and quickly discovered that the Dodge 2500 with a Cummins diesel was right up my alley. The one cavet seemed to be the automatic transmission. The internet is littered with horror stories about the Dodge automatic transmission. Not only the diesel model, but the gasoline model as well. So my first choice became a Dodge 2500 with Cummins diesel and manual transmission. After doing a lot of searching, I found three vehicles in my general price range. Unfortunately, all three of them were automatic transmission. Back to the internet. I found an article by a guy who seemed to know what he was talking about. He said it was not a matter of if a Dodge automatic transmisson went out but more a question of when. I thought about it, did a little research on the costs of repair versus the cost of the manual equipped vehicle and decided to take my chances.

The first vehicle I checkout was in Florida, near where my daughter, son-in-law and grandson live. It was a nice vehicle but I told the guy I still wanted to check out the other two before I jumped. The second vehicle was in Wetumpka, only about 75 miles from me. I had misread the price on the internet. It was a nice truck but a little out of my price range. The third truck was in Franklin TN. I drove up there in a Volvo that I intended to trade. Sure enough, it was just what I wanted so I bought it. The drive home was uneventful as were the next couple of months of driving.

Then one morning, I started out of my driveway, which in sort of steep and about 1/2 way up the drive the transmission seemed to jump out of gear. I had a Ford van one time that was bad to leak transmisson fluild, when it would get low, it acted just like the Dodge was acting. Unfortunately, I had already checked the transmission fluid and it was right up on the full mark. I discovered that if I let the transmission warm up a little and started off with the lever in first gear it did better. This went on for a few weeks and then one day as I was taking a sharp corner a little faster than usual, the tranmission seemed to slip and then catch back up, just like it was low of fluid.

I became reconciled that my little truck was soon to need a rebuilt transmission. I went back to the internet and started searching in earnest for stories of successful Dodge transmission repair. I found some, but mostly what I found were horror stories of multiple transmission failures and replacements. I was beginning to question my original decision. Then I happened on to a site where someone was discussing a problem exactly like mine. One of the answerers said that when the Dodge with an automatic transmission sits for a while, the torque converter drains back into the pan. The pump that fills the torque converter in the Dodge automatic transmission does not run when the transmission is in park. He said that the individual needed to shift the transmission into neutral and let the engine run for a couple of minutes before attempting to drive away, especially in cold weather. A light went off in my head. I knew to check my transmission fluid with the engine running, but was not aware that the Dodge automatic transmission had to be in neutral instead of park. I went out, set the parking brake, started the engine and checked the transmission fuild. The tip of the stick was barely touching the fluid. I had to put 2 quarts of AFT+4 in the transmission to bring it up to the proper level.

I suspect that there are a lot more folks out there that are just like I was. They thought they had their Dodge automatic transmisson full when they didn't. I would not be a bit surprised if that is not the source of some of the Dodge automatic transmisson failures. So, if you are driving a Dodge with a automatic transmission, be sure and have the transmission shifted to neutral when you check the transmission fluid. By the way, it plainly says on the transmission stick to check the fluid level with the transmission in "neutral."

New TV Reality Show?

The ABC network has a show called Boston Legal. Based on recent activities in Boston , someone should come up with a reality show and name it Boston Paranoia. Just in case the link to the recent activities does not load, it shows a Boston bomb squad blowing up a traffic counter that the street department had installed to count the number of cars passing that location.

Global Warming On Mars

This article on Space.com and this one on Nationalgeographic.com suggest that Mars is also experiencing global warming. Must be from that rover we sent up there!?

Cairo is kind of like Pelham

This video kind of reminds me of Pelham, except we don't have a river.

From the Golden Child

One of my favorite parts of the Eddie Murphy Movie, The Golden Child, is when the old monk tells him, "You have to know when to break the rules." Knowing when to break the rules is definitely a lesson

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070301/od_nm/germany_exam_toilet_dc;_ylt=AiEGhPKn8JdrHEn5kS7M5d0uQE4F

these German exam supervisors have not yet learned.

An Open Letter To My Republican Friends

Back in my younger days, I had the pleasure of working with a man named Jay Johnson. Jay, who was about the same age as my father, was a fine man. He and I saw many things the same way but one area where we disagreed was on football. Jay was an Alabama fan; I am an Auburn fan. This was during a time when Alabama's football fortunes were particularly high. In the years when Alabama was doing real well, Jay would tell me that I should be pulling for Alabama to beat Auburn, as Alabama had a chance at a national championship. If they won a national championship, it would reflect well on the state. That went on for several years. Then one year, Auburn had some success and Alabama had an off year. Around Mid November, it was obvious that Auburn had a chance to contend nationally, while Alabama would not be in the hunt for the national championship that year. I went into Jay's office and pretty well parroted back to him the speech he had given to me so often over the years, except I switched Auburn and Alabama. He grimaced and shook his head. He would not pull for Auburn.

During my lifetime I have been fortunate to have many friends and friendly acquaintances. Many of them were and are Republicans. Every time there was an election, at least one of them would chastise me telling me that I was wasting my vote by voting for a libertarian, who had no chance to win. After all, "America has a two party system, third parties never win." I would point out to them that the libertarian candidate had views that much more closely represented their own, but they insisted on holding their nose and voting for the lesser of two evils.

In politics, just as in football, fortunes turn. This year, there is a major party candidate that would make any libertarian proud. He is Congressman Ron Paul of Texas. To my Republican friends, I offer this challenge. Read what Ron Paul has to say. Listen to his speeches. See if you don't agree that he is the person that you should support for president. Or, you can grimace, shake your head, hold your nose and vote for a better-known candidate with more money and name recognition who might have a better chance of winning.

Keene Free Press - A Tale Of Two Campaigns

Here is a report from Keene, NH on some early presidental campaign speechs. Specifically, the author goes to see Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul and discusses his impressions. I found it interesting.

Alabama Needs To Do This

I just read this article which says that Wyoming has eliminated the sales tax on food. The State of Alabama really needs to do this also.

Former Wyoming State Rep. Ann Robinson said "Food is the most basic need of the people of Wyoming and it is not a place for collecting taxes." She is exactly right and the same is true for Alabama. A sales tax on food is one of the most regressive taxes in existence. Only a tax on air or water could be more onerous. In some municipalities in Alabama, the sales tax is currently 10 percent. In those areas, poor people are paying 10% more for food than they have to. What about it Alabama Legislature, Do you have it in you to eliminate the sales tax on food?

A Scary Look To The Future

In this article, Jim Amrhein gives us a scary look into what direction we seem to be heading. What makes this even more scary is that Linda and I were having a conversation just a few days ago about this same sort of thing. When everyday people like us can see this coming, it must be fairly obvious. Why are people not raising hell about this? Probably because the intelligentsia and the news media keep their minds occupied with junk science stuff like the alarmist predictions for global warming.

Something That Every State Should Do

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070301/ap_on_re_us/elderly_shootout_1

This article says that "A group of (Georgia) lawmakers wants to make it harder for police to use "no-knock" warrants in the wake of a shootout that left an elderly woman dead after plainclothes officers stormed her home unannounced in a search for drugs."

This is something that all states should consider and pass. Previously I have linked to a map that showed the occurances of deaths due to "no-knock" warrants. Entirely too many police and civilians have been killed or wounded because of "no-knock" warrants.

In a different article, I have read that Mrs. Johnston, who was 92 year old, was fearful of home invasion. What she did is what most any law abiding citizen would do if three unknown men in street clothes kicked down their front door. I know that if someone kicks in my front door, they can expect that kind of response. I have nothing to hide, just as subsequent police investigations proved that Mrs. Johnston had nothing to hide. I am sure that if the police had knocked on her door, identified themselves as police and showed her a search warrant, she would have welcomed them.

"No-knock" warrants are a failed product of the failed war on drugs. How many innocent people must die before we correct this failure?

My Father's Birthday

Today is my father's birthday. He would have been 86 years old. During the last years of his life, he had a little schaunzer dog named Corky. He loved that little dog. Often when he would be talking about Corky, he would say "That little boy, he's a little man."

When I received the following picture of my grandson, I was immediately reminded of what my father used to say about his little dog. I suspect that if my father were still alive, he would be saying that same thing about his greatgrandson.