Damn Republicans

They still don’t get it!

 I just read an article where Jeb Bush said that the Republican Party needs to give up the “nostalgia” of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by democrats in the 2008 election. Excuse me? You mean to tell me that Republicans should be more like the Democrats? Really?

If you’re a Republican leader the first thing you need to do is say you’re sorry. You need to apologize for spending our money like a crackhead that’s won the lottery. You should apologize for how much you’ve grown the govt in the past 8 years. You need to apologize for tricking those of us who are conservatives into thinking you might be as well. You need to apologize for being too conciliatory with the Democrats.

If you are a Republican and want to get elected then come out, do the things mentioned above, and then tell us the right things and more importantly DO the right things.

The right things are the following:

1. We will greatly reduce personal income tax for the foreseeable future. That means that we will have to cut back on federal programs that are funded by you the tax payer. Sorry, we wont have the money, we’re leaving it with you. You as a working citizen are having to cut back in these tough times and so should, and will, the govt.
2. We will regulate the lending industry. We will increase the requirements on getting home loans, car loans, and personal loans, and make it harder to get one. Gotta be able to afford to live within your means. Doing these two things will force cash back into the market via more take home pay and the consumer can either pay down their current debt (recommended) and/or go grow the economy by buying more, whatever it may be.
3. We will no longer dump money into the car industry. We don’t have it to dump in, sorry because you’re keeping it. Not to mention it’s unconstitutional. Govt doesn’t have the RIGHT to take money in from the private citizens and in turn give it to a failing private company. Just like it doesn’t have the RIGHT to take that same company over when it gives them the money.
4. We’ll do everything we can to unleash the market and allow it to run at full strength so that we can get this economy going again.

Government seems to be getting more and more sinister each and every day. It’s like the guy that’s got the van and is asking little children if they want any candy. The general population in this country is climbing right in that van and being taken for a ride. We all know that ride never ends good.

We as a society are living in such a politically correct world that we cant disagree with someone. Well we have to re-learn that its okay to dislike someone. We have to re-learn that it’s okay to be mad when we are being sold down the river. We have to re-learn that it’s okay to call peoples’ ideas out and tell them they are wrong and tell them why.

I honestly believe that if this country continues on it’s current path that we are headed for some violent times. Good people will take a lot but they will take only so much, then something has got to give. Gun sales are through the roof. Concealed carry license applicants are through the roof. Ammo sales are through the roof. These are all things done by law biding citizens. These are not things done because people are bored. These are not done because people have got lots of extra income. These are preparatory measures.

Time to start paying attention folks.

 

GM’s plan (I’m sure the Govt will approve it)

So GM has to come up with a plan that the govt will approve or they don’t get any more bailout money. So what do they do? They bring back lending to sub-prime borrowers. http://www.reuters.com/article/privateEquity/idUSN0148180620090401

The same borrowers that got loans for houses they couldn’t pay for and started causing the financial debacle we are in. Since the last democrat that was in the Oval office started the whole sub prime lending disaster it only seems natural that our latest democrat president would revive this assinine policy.

 

Random observations for this morning…

Got up this morning and read that Rick Wagoner has resigned from GM, at the request of the Obama administration. Then a little later I read that Obama has put on hold any bailout money for GM or Chrysler until they come up with a viable business plan. So the govt has made a private company’s CEO resign. Now if they don’t submit a plan that is to their liking, I.E. a Govt approved plan, then they wont get any more bailout money. Now without even looking at the incompetence level of the govt and knowing that a govt approved plan is just a recipe for disaster, lets just look at the power they just gave the govt. That just sounds kinda dangerous to me.

I wrote a while back on my blog about charity. When you give charity you become somewhat responsible for the recipient of your charity, to make sure that it’s used in what you perceive to be the right way. The companies that stepped up to the govt and asked to be put on the dole, i.e. given charity, are now having to reap that “reward”. They have put themselves in a place where they are now being claimed by the govt, and to a certain extent the govt is right in doing so. I just wish someone in the govt would have stood up when they all came running to get bailout money and proclaimed in no uncertain terms that “if you ask the federal govt for a bailout then you are relinquishing the right to self governance. You are giving up, TO THE GOVT, the right to make your own decisions for your business. Once you give it up don’t expect to ever get it back.” I wonder if these companies would have been so quick to come to the feed trough if it was put to them in those terms?

Now, the stock market gets up this morning, looks at what the govt made Rick Wagoner do, see that they still didn’t get any more money, there is lots of unrest in the preparation for the G20 summit. I wonder what the market will do today??? I’ve got a good idea, how about you?

 

I don’t need to go to church…Hold that thought just a minute…

FYI, This posting is me totally thinking out loud. (Not that all the others aren’tJ)

 

This past weekend my oldest son asked me to come to church with him, mom, and little bro. I knew it really meant a lot to him and said sure, I’ll go. I’ve never felt an aversion to church but haven’t felt drawn to go either. I haven’t really felt a need to go. I’ve been to many different churches over the years and I have appreciated each service that I’ve been to but the church that my family goes to is by far the most comfortable that I’ve been in. It has a huge children’s church and the boys really enjoy it. The congregation is a good mix of young thru old and Amy really gets a lot out of her time spent there so all is good in those regards.

 

I’ve never really felt “drawn” to go to church. I feel like I have a good relationship with God and I draw on his strength throughout my day to get me thru. I guess since I feel like I’ve got a good relationship with God I haven’t felt the need to go to church to “get right with God”. I know there are countless reasons that people go to church and there is no one right answer for everyone but for me I think it’s beneficial because it allows me to really concentrate on my relationship with him. No matter how good you feel about any relationship there is always room for improvement.

 

I’ve described my fishing trips to friends that don’t fish as forced relaxation. If I take the time to hook the boat up, go to a lake or river and then get out there there’s nothing else to do but fish. I don’t take books, there’s no phone, etc. so the only thing to do is fish. It’s forced relaxation. Well it occurred to me while sitting in the service Sunday that going to church enables me to experience that same feeling in regards to my relationship with God. It gives me uninterrupted time to work on, and appreciate, that relationship. I must say that was a comforting and calming feeling.

 

More Random Thoughts…

So with all the talk about the recession and how crappy things are I thought I would blab about my thoughts. They’ll be random so take them for what they are.

 

I am working so that’s a good thing. My “extra” side work has dried up some but that has allowed me to finish up on some of the projects that I’ve neglected at home for so long. Don’t get me wrong the house is no Taj Mahal but it is getting better.

 

The side work drying up is a good indicator of how things are going though. People are getting really worried and trying to hold on to their money. I don’t blame them; I’m trying to do the same. I’m not buying how the govt is going to fix this either. Anybody looking at what the govt is doing can see that they don’t have a clue. They’ve handed 700B to the head of the treasury to spend it however he chooses. That attitude is so typical of how so many people think today. People just have a just fix it and lets be done with it attitude. That type of thinking or lack thereof has put us here. We as a nation have lived so far beyond our means that we don’t know how to methodically pay down debt, save money, and not live off of credit. I’m not saying credit is a bad thing, I’ve certainly carried it. I’ve gotten in trouble with it too. I’ve also worked my way thru it and paid it off as well. I learned my lesson and now it appears that our country as a whole has to learn the same lesson. Think of it this way, the govt is spending 700 billion bucks to get certain people and organizations out of debt. Since the govt has a deficit, 10 TRILLION DOLLARS WORTH, they just borrowed 700 billion more from us. Think we’ll get that money back?? Now have you ever borrowed your way out of debt? That’s what the govt is doing and we’re letting them!!!  I say them knowing full well that since we are Of, By, and For the People it’s our debt but our elected officials are the ones that have been running this tab up. Turns out they have been running the tab up to the tune of 3.9 billion dollars a day since Sept of 2007. Doesn’t sound like they are checking up at all to me.

 

Just thoughts…

Well, it goes without saying that I’m disappointed in the turnout of the Presidential election. When I was growing up I was raised in a house that always voted democrat. My granddaddy was raised thru the depression and saw the democrats bring the country out of that, or at least that was his perception. He had great respect for Truman as a president for doing the things he did and making the tuff decisions he did. My mom was a single mother in the 70’s raising me and was also a democrat. Growing up I always listened to the adult conversations around the dinner table; politics, current events, etc. and took it all in. Not until I became an adult did my thoughts start to gel and did I become aware that I, and my family, have always been conservative. If granddaddy were alive today I dont think he would like what the democrat party has become. I consider granddaddy to have been an old southern democrat and we now know how they vote, Republican.

 

My granddaddy was my primary male roll model as a child and always has and always will mean the world to me. He was incredibly independent and always helped others. Our house and I call it ours even though it was actually his house but I stayed there, would go without repair so that he/we could help others that he deemed needed it more. That was fine with me. I never once thought that we were suffering. He made it clear that we should help others who needed help. Not those that were too lazy to do it for themselves or that took advantage but those that just weren’t able and needed an extra hand. One of the worst people in the world to him if not the worst was a thief. I guess that came from growing up in the depression and not having anything and having to work for everything he had. It certainly taught me the lesson that the things you have you have to earn. If you want more that’s great just work harder. Obama has made it clear that he thinks that a politician has the right to take your money and allocate to those that HE feels need it more. For all of you that agree with him in those regards I would like to ask you why haven’t YOU already done that? Why haven’t YOU gone out and taken YOUR money and given it to those that don’t want to have to worry about filling their gas tanks and don’t want to have to worry about paying the mortgage? Now, explain to me how its okay for a politician to take money from one citizen and “redistribute” it to another and that not be stealing?

 

I’ll finish this with a quote:

 

“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man’s initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”

 

Great point…

From Walter Williams, writing in the Washington Times:

One of the campaign themes this election cycle is “affordable” health care. Shouldn’t we ask ourselves whether we want the politicians who brought us the “affordable” housing, that created the current financial debacle, to now deliver us affordable health care?

 

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need …

So do enough people see that Obama has communist leanings? He’s saying it if anyone would care to stop and listen. Here he is stating that he wants to “spread the wealth around”. http://www.breitbart.tv/html/195153.html He is also saying that HE wants to give everyone the chance for success too. Everybody already has that chance. Every morning when you wake up you have a chance at success, if you choose to take it. It’s called freedom. Obama is describing the Marxist theory “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need ” which is COMMUNIST.

If Obama taxes that plumber more then he takes money away from him. That money could be spent by that plumber, who earned it, to hire new employees and grow his business. Isn’t that the desired result, economic growth? Does anyone truly believe that the government can spend your money better than you can? That’s what you’re saying when you agree with Obama on this. He’s saying that he knows better what to do with your money than you do, therefore you need to be taxed more.

Also, don’t believe the adds that he’s running saying he wouldn’t increase your taxes if you make less than 250,000 a year. That is wrong.  Here is an explanation and his voting record on increasing your taxes if you make 42,000 a year or more.  http://richmond.craigslist.org/pol/858401534.html

 

Who started it???

Well looks like it may have been the Democrats  that started this crap after all.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9c0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1

 

The Bailout

So we as taxpayers are being asked to “loan” the govt $700,000,000,000.00 (damn what a lot of zeros) so the govt can buy a bunch of bad loans from the banks that loaned to people that couldn’t pay the loan back. How many of us out here can afford to take on a high risk loan right now? Seriously, this is a high risk venture. This “fix” is more of the same type of mentality that got us into this trouble. The root cause is bad loan practices, period. Regardless of who is at fault the loan practices are bad. It was bad that someone went to a bank and borrowed more money than they could pay back. It was bad that the bank lent them the money knowing these people couldn’t pay it back. Until the lending institutions change how they do business, we should not buy any of these loans. The behavior has to be corrected. We have as a society become so dependant on credit that so many of us can’t get by without it. We carry insane amounts of credit card debt, car loan debt, etc. that we don’t know how to be fiscally conservative. We don’t know how to save money up to buy the things we want. We have a buy now, pray later attitude. Well it looks like we’re at the pray part, and look who we’re praying to. The government. We are praying to the government to fix this?? Come on, seriously? Doesn’t that seem a bit odd? This rant doesn’t even touch on the fact that we are socializing a certain portion of our “free market” society. That’s for a different discussion. I have yet to be convinced that we are “fixing” any of this. We’re giving an iron lung to a chain smoker without taking away the cigarettes. That isn’t fixing it folks.  

 

Jerry Reed

Jerry’s gone!

 

It’s with a sad heart that I found out that Jerry Reed had died the other day. Interestingly enough, my oldest boy was a little taken aback when he learned that he died. I’ve just started giving some of his music to him and he really likes it. Some of the more silly songs are right up his alley.

 

Here’s a few links to some of my favorites from Jerry Reed:

 

Wabash Cannonball

 

Amos Moses

 

Lord, Mr. Ford

 

When You’re Hot You’re Hot

 

East Bound and Down (How can you NOT have this one??)

 

She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)  

 

 

 

Living Simply…

I saw a bumper sticker the other evening that caught my ire. It is “Living simply so that others may simply live”

 

Huh?

 

Why? If you want to do something to truly help others why not build those that need help up? Why lower yourself? I just don’t understand that mindset. I am all for helping your fellow man, that’s a good and noble cause. Lowering yourself however is a weak, lazy way out. It doesn’t help others, it’s just a pat yourself on the back feel good notion. If I cancel my cable and get rid of my cell phone that’s not going to feed some starving pigmy somewhere in the nether reaches of the world. It’s more difficult to help others. It requires more effort. I guess that’s where the adage of “anything having is worth working for”. Remember your grandparents telling you that? It’s true. Now when you help someone you become partially responsible for their outcome. Not totally because everyone has to have responsibility for themselves ultimately but you do share some responsibility on the outcome. I’ve written about this before here.

 

Why don’t we have conservative cities?

Where are the conservative cities? Maybe they exist but I don’t live near any. During elections the maps always show that the more densely populated an area is the more liberal they vote. Why?

 

I honestly think it’s got something to do with human nature. I think that if there are a bunch of people congested with one another and if someone is doing very well and being successful then jealously kicks in with others. That’s when a “right” of entitlement starts up. It takes a certain discipline to not compare yourself to others. Seeing successful people should inspire yourself to do better, not become jealous of others that have done well in their endeavors. But that thought process takes discipline to achieve, I don’t think it’s instinctive. We as people are instinctively selfish. Just look at children and you see that. We have to teach them to share. We have to teach them to work together. We have to teach them to not be jealous of what other people have.

 

Now certainly not all liberals are jealous, that’s not what I mean. I just notice that the more liberal an area is the more inclined it is to have higher taxes, more social programs, etc. The more of the “right” of entitlement seems to be apparent. Any thoughts?

 

I feel safe now!

I saw an ad this morning that made me feel nice and secure. It was a presidential ad from Obama. Did you know he made a law to keep nukes out of the hands of terrorists?! I didnt know we could do that! I feel so much better now. Here’s the link to it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSzbsMq-EdQ.

Does he really think that anyone with half a brain really thinks that making a law to keep nukes from terrorists is going to amount to a pinch of @%#$^? Come on. I cant believe we as taxpayers payed for this type of crap to come from Washington.

Figures this would come from a lawyer.

My God, if he’s elected we’re in trouble.

 

Being held down by the MAN!!! Or is it being suppressed by govt?

It occurred to me that we truly are living under a suppressive govt. When the hell did that happen? When the environmentalists got a say that’s when, but that’s for a different post. It occurred to me that our “energy crisis” is primarily caused by govt, no one else. We haven’t built a refinery since the 70’s, no new nuke plants in a long time, can’t drill for oil in the gulf or in ANWAR, All this is because of govt regulation. It’s not that difficult to fix folks, turn us loose! If the suppression of government was lifted we could have all the power we would ever need and be making most of it ourselves. It’s been said that the oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico rival those in Saudi Arabia. Wouldn’t it be nice to start pumping that stuff out in earnest and then offer the Saudi’s about $25 bucks a barrel for their oil? If they didn’t like that price tell oh well, see how well your camels like oil in their oats.

 

Our energy woes are akin to trying to run a race with the hand brake on; let go of the damn brakes! We take a hell of a lot better care of our environment than any one else in the world does. We can drill, pump, and develop all the power we need if the govt would just get the hell out of the way, and do it in a way that would be environmentally responsible.

 

Paying someone else’s mortgage

So now we’re going to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? That’s just wrong. I pay my mortgage on time every month, sometimes it’s pretty tight but it gets paid. I applied for a loan that was within my means. Now I know things happen to people and sometimes life events change things in such a way that people become unable to pay for things. I’m not talking about those few people that this happens to. However several years back so many people jumped on the variable interest rate loan knowing full well that they were going to have to go to the higher fixed rate and that their payments were going to go up to an amount that was way beyond their means of paying back. So now that this has happened it’s up to us as taxpayers to bail these people out? Worse yet, we’re not bailing out the people that took out the loans, we’re bailing the banks out that lent them the money!!!! WTF???  The real reason we have to fix it it because 1) It’s an election year and politicians will buy votes. 2) More importantly, a lot of this mortgage debt is held by foreign companies. If we don’t pay it the value of our dollar will plummet. It wont be worth the paper it’s written on.

 

So all you taxpayers that go out, buy a home you can afford, pay all your taxes, and live within your means, buckle up, you’re getting ready to get hit with yet another tax bill to pay for those that choose not to. Woooo!!!

 

 

 

Interesting article

Must say I’ve thought this several times. It just looks like he’s not ready for prime time. Do we really want this newbie running our country?

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2008/07/10/boggsed.html

 

Iran wolfing up

Well looks like the little nut job in Iran wants to show he’s a badass in the sandbox. He’s now popping off missiles to show everyone that he can hit Israel and other countries. They also are doing these “war games” in the strait of Hormuz, where about 40% of all the worlds’ oil passes thru. They’re trying to prove a point.  I believe the point is, once we leave they are going to be in charge in that area. How does that make you feel? If you dont like $4.00+ a gallon wait until they can shut off that strait whenever they want. Talk about having us by the short and curlies… Doing that will also control the other countries in the area by controling their output.

We’ll end up fighting them before it’s all over. Either that or paying 10.00+ a gallon for gas.

 

Religion in Politics

Religion in politics, that’s a good topic. First it’s probably good to define both religion and politics for the discussion. What is religion? To me it’s your core spiritual beliefs and what guides you as to right and wrong on a moral level. Politics to me is the practical governing of your surroundings but for this conversation lets say its our local, state, and national govt.

 

Since govt makes the laws we as a society live by why on earth wouldn’t you want those people in govt to make those laws based on their moral beliefs? Now before you say because those in govt are worthless pieces of crap remember that you elected them to be there!

 

Religion always has and always will be in politics. There is no way to separate the two, nor should it be attempted. Laws are based in morality. We create laws to protect each other and to maintain civility. It is morally wrong to kill someone so we make laws against murder. It’s morally wrong to be a thief so we make laws against stealing. The point is we govern ourselves based on our collective perception of right and wrong. That perception is formed from our beliefs. One of the ways we gain our beliefs is from our religion. Since the majority of the people in this country claim a Christian faith it is only natural that the law would be influenced by Christianity. To ignore religion in the process of making laws is not realistic.

 

If a politician can leave his/her religion at the door when he enters congress, White House, etc, then I certainly don’t want anything to do with them.  If they can check their morality at the door then that means they will make immoral laws. Now who wants that?  

 

Jerry Reed music

I’m liking some Jerry Reed music recently. Here’s one, I’ve bought several from iTunes recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCE48O6U4Yw&feature=related

 

Thank You please may I have another…

Damn!! I filled up my truck and my wife’s car the other day and it cost $150.00!! Just for full disclosure, I also filled up a 5 gallon can so that I could cut our grass but still, $150.00!!! I was listening to one of the morning shows today and they were talking about how this is a market driven issue. BS!!! Unless I want to quit my job I have to drive to work, which means I have to buy gas. Same holds true for my wife. The next argument is buy a car that makes better gas milage. Well both our vehicles are paid for so buying a new one to gain a few miles per gallon is not a logical answer once you do the math, not to mention where I live and the things I do require that I have a truck. We’ve made all the changes that you can make such as combining trips and that sort of thing but still that average the other day at the pump is going to amount to 600.00 a month/7200.00 a year. Now that’s not including the summer vacation and any extra trips around.

 

Sure would be nice if we could drill for our own oil in this country and maybe build another refinery or two… I know “that would be bad for the environment”. Here’s some food for thought for those of you that believe the crap about bad for the environment, who do you thinks takes better care of the environment, us when we drill and refine or Chevez, the Saudis, and Mexico??

 

BTW,

I am all for finding other forms of energy. If we could make the world run off that bunny I keep seeing on TV that would be fine by me but until then we still need oil so might as well do it ourselves. Also, lets build some more nuke plants!!!

 

Data Data Everywhere…

We are finding out that our boys are getting bombarded with data. You’ll see what I mean here in a minute. It all started when our oldest guy was beginning to have a few issues in class. Nothing major mind you, just a lack of focus when he needs to. After looking at the homework and schoolwork that he’s doing now it was evident that the work wasn’t the issue. The work isn’t that hard, certainly well within his abilities. So what is it? Well after talking with the teacher and just watching what they do it occurred to us that he’s bored. But why would he be bored?

Well, if you have children try this little exercise. Take a look at all of their toys, video games, TV shows, etc. that they play with and watch. Look at the shear amount of data that is bombarding them. We found a prime example when we compared his favorite handheld video game on his PSP. When I was a kid I had a game called Blockbuster from MicroVision and it was one of my most favorite games. Compare that to the PSP’s NASCAR , which is the boys favorite, and it’s like comparing an abacus to a calculator. The blockbuster game had sound, it was BONG–BONG–BONG. PSP’s NASCAR has sound too. It has a crewchief tell you how to drive the car, what place you’re in, who’s trying to pass you, how much fuel you have, how many laps are left, etc. etc. The audio alone is a tremendous amount of data to take in. Then look at the screen! Look at the amazing detail in the game! Oh, it’s a great game and its a blast to play but man look at all the data that’s being thrown at them. Now compare the old Bugs Bunny, Whyle E. Coyote cartoons to the cartoons that they watch now! Wow, what a huge difference. Now, if your kid has a computer that just kicks open a whole new door to HUGE AMOUNTS OF DATA!! No wonder a sheet of simple addition and subtraction problems isn’t getting much interest… 

So what was our solution? Turn it all off and make them go outside. This week has be NO TV, NO computer, NO PSP, but they’ve been able to spend as much time outside playing whatever they want. They’ve been gravitating to a big ol’ dirt pile that I’ve dug up lately. Once they get done with that they tend to pick up the baseball bat and toss balls to each other to hit.

The result? Well our oldest who’s been having the issues in class took a practice ERB test this week and pegged the meter with it. Out of the whole booklet he missed 2 questions. No I’m not saying he’s a genius, he’s got too much of his dad in him, but he is a very very bright little guy. Who knows maybe he is a genius. Maybe now that we have stumbled on to the obvious (I just cant help but remember my grandaddy telling me to “get out side, that TV is gonna rot your brain…”) things will be easier and more enjoyable for the guys. Time will tell.

 

Political Correctness run a muck

By now we all have heard the clip from Clinton that she “mis-spoke” about coming under sniper fire on her trip to Bosnia back when she was first lady. Mis-spoke?? What the hell is mis-spoke? It’s called a lie!!!! Have we come to the point in our politically correct society that we cant call a politican a liar?

My God, we’re in trouble if we continue down this path…

 

Racism, for God’s sake, get over it…

So now we’re having to endure racism talk in the presidential race. Come on, how long are we going to kick this stone?

Let’s preface this with I’m as white as they come. I don’t hate people based on their skin, If I’m going to dislike someone I’ll find something other than the one thing they’ve got absolutely no control over. I’ll dislike someone because they’re hurtful, deceitful, dis-honorable, etc. I look around and see that the only people that are bringing up race in this presidential contest are the democrats. Wait, I thought the evil republicans are the racists? If inclined, see this entry http://jasonaycock.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/race-in-the-political-campaign/  for my thoughts on that.

I think the thing I realize is that whites and blacks are different. Not the color thing, which we have no control over, but in culture. I’m not condoning separate but equal I’m just stating a fact. I personally don’t see anything wrong with it. The one thing that is paramount however is to accept that there is nothing wrong with either culture, it’s just different. Kinda like county music and rock music. They’re both fine, just different. My oldest son is seeing this now and is asking questions. It makes for some interesting discussions, that’s for sure. It started a few years ago when he noticed that there were two Baptist churches very close to each other near where we live. He asked why and I explained to him that anyone is welcome to go to either one but that white people tend to congregate at one while black people tend to congregate at the other. Of course he asked why so I had to explain to him, in 5 year old terms, that whites and blacks have a tendency to worship differently. We still believe in the same God and Jesus but that we celebrate God differently. Since we celebrate differently we are more inclined to go where like minded people will be. To me it has little to nothing to do with color but more to do with culture. I don’t think either culture should have to concede to the other for conformity. There’s no need provided we accept the other for what it is, just simply a different way of life.

That’s what makes life fun right? Variety?

 

Something about Obama

It’s been hard for me to articulate my thoughts on Obama. There’s something there that is just unsettling. Obviously I dont share his political views but that’s not the reason I find him unsettling. There are many people that I dont share their political views and that’s fine, makes for interesting conversation and debate, but there is something about Obama that is more sinister.

I was reading a book a while back, a biography on Huey Long, and I remember telling my dad that Obama reminds me of a black version of Long. I couldnt put my finger on why but he just did. I think I’m starting to see what it is. Obama, like Long, is a well spoken man that seems to connect with ordinary people. He connects using emotion, not reasoning. He has gotten a cult-like following now by doing this. I do believe his judgements are way off however. Pulling us out of Iraq for one is just insane. We cant do that and he should know this. My guess is he probably does know this and is just plucking at the emotions of those “wanting change”. If he is elected President he wont pull the troops. If he does they’ll be sent right back in. And this thing about “change”. Of course we’re going to have change, we’re electing a new president. How can we not have change? See, again this is playing on emotion. I’ll babble more later.

 

Shootin’ Part 2

I’m getting there. Google is great, I was able to do a lo-tech trigger job on my AR and get noticable improvments in the group. Here are the last 3 shots fired last night after tweaking the trigger. They’re the ones touching each other… This was also shot at 140 yards. Center to center the group measures 3/8″. Now I just need to move the whole thing over to the left and I’ll be happy.

 

Shootin’

Growing up we spent a lot of time shooting, reloading, shooting, reloading… See the pattern? Anyway, it was a lot of fun that created many many great memories. Not to mention the precision and patience required to get good at it. Since then I’ve always had the oppotunity to shoot but have just recently gotten back into doing it. Here is my latest target, they will get better, at least I hope so! http://jasonaycock.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/target_022108.jpg I do feel a little rusty but it’s fun trying to get better. Time will tell if I get any better.

Here’s the distance it was shot at, about 140 yards. http://jasonaycock.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/img_3734.jpg The bullet trap farthest away is the 140 mark.

 

Obama or Clinton???

As a conservative I wonder who we really want to run against. It’s assumed that McCain is in so let’s move to the dems.   We know what we’re getting if we get Clinton. Not good. You can see that she’s got a lot of bitch in her. She’s obviously part of the old Clinton dynasty. She’ll bring Bill back in the oval office if elected. He looks like he’s gotten more and more cantankerous as he’s gotten older. She’ll bring back the old guard. Knowing this we have an idea on how to deal with it however.  We don’t quite know what we’re getting with Obama however. He’s well spoken, articulate, bla, bla, bla. So was Hitler. He’ll run from the war after we have so much invested in it, leaving the rubble for someone else to clean up. That should do wonders for the relations we have with the rest of the world… Also, we are seeing who his supporters are. Damn wack jobs really. http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=5700252&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1 Check out the commie flag in the background! If these are the people that are going to put him in office then these are the people that he will need to pay back for getting him there. He’ll have to surround himself with these nuts. We really cant take that kind of chance, I don’t think.   Should be interesting to see how it pans out.

 

Do What??

How dare a politician tell me as a conservative to “Just calm down” I’ll be damned if I will be told by someone that has the moral fortitude to chum up with Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton to pass crappy legislation that I should just calm down. Another example of his willingness to stifle free speech. His other big example is Campaign finance reform. He may be the inevitable Republican candidate but that doesn’t mean I have to vote for him just because I’m a conservative. I will, if pushed, make a spite vote.

  

I see it this way. If we as conservatives vote for him just to have a Republican in the office then we have forfeited our claim to the party. That leaves the conservatives with the option of starting a 3^rd party to express our views or slip into oblivion. I say let the “centrists” start the 3^rd party and not commandeer the Republican party. Conservatives shouldfight to keep the Republican party their own.

  

The biggest problem with today’s conservatives is the conciliatory tone many are willing to give. To hell with that! First off, define what makes you a conservative. Find those values that are important and then stand up, grow a pair, and stick your ground. There should be no negotiating your values, and that’s what we should govern on right, our values?

 

Charity and Responsibility

I had a very interesting conversation with a good friend over the weekend and he mentioned an instance that he had that required him to make a somewhat difficult decision in regards to charity. The specifics of his situation are not the point of this post but the topic of responsible charity is.  

We as a people in this nation are the most charitable in the world; there’s no denying it. We are also a country of people that requires things happen easy and at the speed of light. You can see proof everyday. We are the first to respond when a disaster hits, we offer aid all over the world to anyone that needs it and will take it. We offer it here in this country all day every day. But are we helping? We send billions in aid to countries all over the world that are generally horrible places to be. Why is it that we give charity and it’s still horrible? I think it’s because we send charity without giving much thought as to what our responsibility is there once we have given that charity. An analogy is the people that stand at the stop lights and intersections with a bucket asking for coin. If you don’t give them money you may be inclined to feel like a pile of crap. But if you do give the change, without KNOWING where that money goes, have you helped? What if he/she is an alcoholic or druggy? They might be hungry but they might also be thirsty, or need another hit. If they count up the money at the end of the day and see they’ve got enough to go buy the 5^th of wine or a meal and buys the wine you just helped make their life worse, NOT better. If on the other hand you picked them up at that stop light and took them to get a meal you HELPED. Now, how many of us make the time or have the desire to put them in the car and take them to get a meal? Really… 

You can take this thought process further. We have welfare in this country and it’s not necessarily a bad idea, at least in a philosophical sense. How it’s administered however is charity without responsibility and consequently is bad. So we have a govt that doles out charity in the form of welfare checks without responsibility to make sure the recipient gets the necessaries without abusing the system, and consequently trapping themselves in that same system. The vicious cycle starts. Here’s an example: a woman has multiple children and gets on welfare. She gets her checks for a while and finally goes and gets a job. The welfare checks stop, but another baby comes along. She then realizes that if she continues to work she will make less money than if she quits and goes back on welfare. The administration of welfare has just trapped her into staying “down”. Now I know the argument will be that she doesn’t HAVE to quit, she chose to. That’s true but because of the govt’s “charity” without responsibility it just encouraged her to NOT achieve and NOT become a productive member of society but rather to become a drain on that society. It’s that type of situation that this system cultivates. If you want to help this situation you need to give them basic necessities for life and then encourage these people to gain marketable skills so that they can get decent paying jobs. Don’t just give without requiring something from the recipients. That hurts them by not requiring some commitment from them, whatever it may be. Without knowing something’s value you can’t prioritize the things that are important.  

There are lots of old sayings I remember being told to me growing up, “anything worth having is worth working for”, “pull yourself up by your own boot straps”, etc. You don’t hear them much any more. If we are to maintain a great country and a God loving country then we will need to get back to these types of values.

 

Random Thought on the stimulus package

Am I the only one that thinks the stimulus package is odd? It just seems very odd that the govt can come to a deal so quick in regards to giving back tax money to “spur on the economy”? That certainly seems like a good indication that it’s pretty obvious that we are being taxed too much initially. It just seems like they know that they are in our pockets too deep. It also gives me the feeling that I am being treated like a kid getting an allowance. I have said for a while now that we should all have to pay quarterly taxes so that we truly know how much we give to the govt. I think that would create such an upheaval once people started having to write checks for thousands of dollars every 4 months that the folks in Washington would change their attitude with our money. O.K., done with my morning rant. Thanks for reading.

 

Race in the Political Campaign

There is talk now about race becoming an issue in the presidential debate. Figures that the democrats would bring it up. I think a lot of people seem to think that Republicans are the racist ones. It’s the democrats that are the real racists. The Dems always act like they own civil rights. I just don’t get it. Clinton was out there the other day saying that it took Johnson to make the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. It took Republicans, plain and simple. Now people are complaining that Martin Luther King Jr. was slighted by this. If you go back and look at the legislation in 1964 then you’ll find some interesting facts.

Fact 1:
There was a filibuster going on in the senate to stop this bill. Was it the mean ole Republicans? No, it was 18 DEMOCRATS.

Fact 2:
It was finally passed on a vote of 73 yea to 27 nay. Care to guess how many of the 27 nays were democrats? 21 of the 27 were democrats.

Fact 3:
In the house the bill was passed 290 yea to 130 nay. Of the 130, 96 were democrats while 34 were republicans.
80 percent of the Republicans present were for it, 20 percent against.
61 percent of the Democrats present were for it, 39 percent against.

Now I’m not saying the Republicans are pure as the driven snow but lets keep things in perspective. It was a Republican President that finally made slavery illegal, not a Democrat. It was a Republican lead legislature that brought about the Civil Rights Act, not a Democratic.

 

Grandaddy’s War pics

Below are some pictures of my Grandaddy during WWII. He was a Marine that served in the South Pacific.

Poem A poem my Grandmother wrote Grandaddy while he was over there. Also a few newspaper clippings and a Soldiers prayer.

Telegram Telegram to Grandmother letting her know he was on his way home. Short and sweet.

Discharge paper  A copy of his discharge paper.

Dead guys  Pictures of some unfortunate Japs. Also some Japaneese money, hey they weren’t going to need it.

Hawaii pics Some pictures of Hawaii, on his way thru.

Hawaii pics 2 Pictures of Hawaii, either on his way over or on his way back, not sure. 

Senic pics Some more pics of the South Pacific, not sure if it wass Hawaii or one of the islands he was on.

Senic pics 2 More senic pics of the South Pacific

Fellow Marines Some of his “Brothers in Arms”

Fellow Marines 2 Some more pics of his “Brothers in Arms”

Induction Orders His order to report for induction into the Marines.

Grandaddy 1 Grandaddy all dressed up. Notice his ID card, 115lbs and he had to lie about that…

Fellow Marines 3 More of his “Brothers in Arms”

Fellow Marines 4 More pics. I wish I knew who these guys were.

Spoils Some of the guys holding up the spoils of war.

Spoils and Grandaddy Spoils of war and Grandaddy in action…

Fellow Marines 5 More guys posing.

Fellow Marines 6 Just some more pics of his buddies.

Senic pics 3 Some interesting pics. Notice they’re holding a skull.

Chow Line Mmmmm mmmm good looking food….

Grandaddy Marching Grandaddy marching and all “buffed out” in the row boat. Mean and lean I guess. It ain’t the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog!

Registered Registration cards and a pic of him holding his dog.

 

I think I’ve figured out my opinion on illegals

I think I’ve finally figured out my opinion on how to fix and/or come to terms with the illegal immigrant problem this country has. My first visceral reaction has always been to “kick all their asses out of the country”. But after thinking about it I realize that it’s just not possible. Also, if we are to be a Christian nation, which in my opinion we should strive to be, it isn’t the right thing to do. My thought is this, first and foremost LOCK THE BORDERS DOWN! That’s doable, and also necessary in a post 9/11 world, ans it’s really just common sense. If someone burglarizes your house the first thing you do is get a better lock and USE IT. The next thing is allow those that are here illegally to come forward without fear of deportation. If they want to stay and work fine, allow that to continue, if not and they want to go back home, allow that as well.

We can’t continue to live as a nation with a substantial portion of the population in hiding. That’s simply not healthy to our nation and it breeds dishonesty. We’ve already allowed those people to come here illegally so as for an attitude of “they shouldn’t be here”, that may be true but it’s too late.  You cant put the sh!t back in the horse.

The next step is to encourage them to become educated and become citizens. We don’t want to have a bunch of bottom feeders that are uneducated. They are a drain on society as a whole and not a contributing factor. Just like encouraging your kids to get a good education we need to encourage this largely uneducated populous to do the same.

Is this solution easy? Absolutely not. Is it going to cost us some money to do it? Of course, probably a lot. But we have allowed these people to come into this country and we now have a responsibility to make them a positive part of this society. They’re here and there’s no changing that, might as well make something good out of it. It’s akin to being head of the household, you have them in your house, now make them a good citizen. It’s also a more Christian way of handling them than keeping them pushed to the side.

 

This is Awesome…

Talk about precision. These guys are good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y90UPLLo6nY&NR=1

 

Damn, I think we might just be in trouble…

It looks like 1 in 5 students would give up their right to vote for an ipod… Two-thirds would give up their right to vote for 1 years tuition to school. Here’s the article. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6892.html 

I really hope it’s just at NYU but you have to wonder…

 

Now they’re trying to take the flag ceremony away???!!!

I just read an article on Fox, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306186,00.html, that they want to ban the flag folding ceremony at military burials because there is a reference to God in the recitation that accompanies the ceremony. Have we totally lost it??? 

Some of the most heated debates I have ever had are in regards to religion in government. Certain people have some sort of visceral rage against having ANY reference to religion in government. I just don’t understand this. Why should I bow to their sensitivities? The VAST majority of this country believes in God, so it only stands to reason that the VAST majority of the politicians that we elect to govern us also believe in God. If any lawmaker can leave their religious convictions at the door when they walk into the capitol then I don’t want them in there. Think about it this way, congressman and senators make laws that govern our society. These laws are the beliefs of our society and the morality of our society. If someone can drop their own personal beliefs at the door then they don’t have strong enough convictions to have the authority to set the nations morals.  Our laws are based on morality, you don’t kill because it’s immoral. You don’t steal because it’s immoral. This really isn’t that difficult folks. If we okay the abandoning of acknowledgement of God in our governing bodies and our schools we are in for some really sad and hard times in the country. A true decay from the inside out.

 

Ahmad-man

 The question of whether or not Ahmadinejad should have been allowed on this soil and allowed to speak at one of our most “prestigious” universities (I know, subjective) is being sent around and I’m starting to see that even though we don’t agree with him that people are saying it’s okay for him to be hear and be heard. I don’t agree with that. We are a free nation and we are fighting a proxy war with Iran. We’ve been fighting it for a while, BTW I called that some time back http://jasonaycock.wordpress.com/2007/04/26/4/ . There is a big difference with allowing someone that doesn’t share your same views on things, such as Hugo Chevez last year, the opportunity to speak, and giving an enemy of our country a venue to be heard, on our soil no less. Now I know that once we heard him he just showed how asinine he is but we already knew that right? Our men and women in uniform fight for our freedoms and for the freedom of oppressed people all over the world. We are a country that will give our lives so that other countries can live in a free society. Our men and women in uniform do NOT fight so that those tyrants in those oppressed countries can come to OUR country and speak their garbage. And if you didn’t already guess, the Iranian state run press has spun his visit to Columbia to fit their needs. http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-24/0709252616013529.htm  The hearts and minds of those that we need to win over are continuing to be fed the garbage we need to stop, and now it’s with our help.

 

Those that dont understand history are doomed to repeat it…

Columbia Univerisity. Here is an interesting article sent to me today that I wanted to share.  http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/42946.html

Amazing, espically coming from a Univerisity. The only good thing I see by this visit is the amount of protests that are happening.

 

Bravo Yanks!! Bravo!!

I see today that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been denied the stunt of laying a wreath at ground zereo. Bravo NYPD and the Port Authority! Don’t let that scum near that place. While the attack there was a New York hit, it also hit all of America. That is sacred ground and him going there is nothing but a PR stunt. He is the same piece of dung that wants to wipe Israel, and us, off the map if given the chance. So much for the peaceful religion of Islam. Him going to Ground Zero is akin to Adolf Hitler walking the streets of London in 1940 after the Blitzkrieg.  

I think Guilini said it very well:

“Under no circumstances should the NYPD or any other American authority assist President Ahmadinejad in visiting Ground Zero. This is a man who has made threats against America and Israel, is harboring bin Laden’s son and other al-Qaeda leaders, is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. Assisting Ahmadinejad in touring Ground Zero – hallowed ground for all Americans – is outrageous.”  

I may not agree with Rudy on a bunch of things but he’s got his mind right about this one. Now this being a free country, it may be difficult to keep him from going to the same places that the general public can go at Ground Zero so maybe a New York construction worker could give him a tour? I think I’d like to see on of the guys that helped clean up Ground Zero meet him on the streets. Let him get within arms reach and lets see what happens. Might be worth letting the POS go. Okay, that’s my rant for the day.

 

Opening up the roads…

Yet another bonehead idea that has sprouted legs. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51779 We are now going to open the roads to the Mexicans to run their trucks on our roads to make deliveries. WTH??? Figures this was first concocted by the Clinton’s under NAFTA. But I’m more mad at Bush for this than Clinton. Hell, we know Clinton would be for some stupid idea like this, always was, but Bush is supposed to stop these type of insane ideas. Now instead of having to swim some slimy river and sneak in under the cover of darkness the illegals will just hide in the tractor trailer full of crap on its way from Mexico to your nearby Wal-Mart. What about their vehicles? What kind of road rules do they have? How safe do the trucks have to be south of the boarder? Do they pay attention to the rules governing the amount of time a driver can drive before they have to stop to rest? Also, what kind of log book do they keep while driving and will an American cop be able to read it when they pull it over? What about a national safety issue? You think it would be harder or easier to hide a suitcase nuke in one of these trucks? I can see it now, get a half drunk Mexican to drive a tractor trailer into some big city, drop the trailer off, leave and the next thing you know… BOOOM!!!! Mushroom cloud… or dirty bomb cloud… You get my point.  Come on, this has got to be one of the dumbest things I think I’ve heard  come out of Washington’s D.C.’s !!#$ in a while…

 

A Pretty cool picture I snapped while watching the storm go by…

I didnt have any idea I would actually get this but it was pretty cool either way.

Lightning Strike

 

Some more 4wheeler pics

Here are a few more pics of the trip

Group picture

Another cool pic of the cave

This was a remote cabin, I mean remote…

This is the view from the cabin

This dog is too cool, he rode everywhere we went, all 80+ miles. He sat in the create on the back and just cruized. He also went bar hopping with us in the evening.

Me and my buddy that invited me on the trip

Some fine engineering. Notice the beer can “shim” there was another one on top to keep from puncturing the tarp

 

4Wheeler Ride

Went riding/camping this past weekend in W.Va. Wow, that was fun. We rode about 80+ miles all over the mountains and “imbibed in some spirits”. Here are a few pics.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

 

A buddy sent me this the other day, great definition

Political Correctness:

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.

Come on now, that’s good ….

 

I told you I didn’t want any Damn meat!!!

http://www.nbc29.com/global/story.asp?s=6771976 

 Okay, I know someone could’ve gotten hurt and that’s no good but it is still pretty damn funny. I can just see a little old man with a sawed off shotgun poking it out of the front door popping a couple off

 

God’s Country

A man in Topeka, Kansas, decided to write a book
 about churches around the country. He started by
 flying to San Francisco, and started working east
 from there. Going to a very large church, he began
 taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a
 golden telephone on the vestibule wall, and was
 intrigued with a sign which read, “$10,000 per
 minute.” Seeking out the pastor, he asked about the
 phone and the sign. 
 
The pastor answered that the golden phone is, in
 fact, a direct line to Heaven, and if he pays the
 price, he can talk directly to God. The man thanked
 the pastor and continued on his way. * 
 
As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Salt
 Lake City, Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around
 the United States, he found more such phones, with
 the same sign, and the same explanation from each
 pastor. 
 
Finally, the man arrived in the lovely state of
 Mississippi. Upon entering a church, behold: he saw
 the usual g olden telephone. But THIS time, the sign
 read: “Calls: 25 cents.”! 
 
Fascinated, the man asked to speak with the pastor.
 ”Reverend, I have been in cities all across the
 country and in each church I have found this golden
 telephone, and have been told it is a direct line to
 Heaven, and that I could use it to talk to God. But
 in 20 other churches, the cost was $10,000 per
 minute. Your sign says 25 cents per call. Why is
 that? 
 
The pastor, smiling benignly, replied: “Son, you’re
 in the South now … it’s a local call.

 

If we dont fight them there they will try us here

Here is yet another example of why we need to stay on them. A plot has just been broken up that would have attacked Fort Bix in New Jersey. Either 5 or 6 “radical muslims” wanted to kill as many soldiers as possible. Here’s an article on it. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270601,00.html

Another example also of our political correctness. The news is calling them “radical muslims” or “islamic radicals”. Call them what they are, terrorists or murderous thugs.

I’m just thankful that we have law enforcement that can catch them. Way to go guys.

 

Ho…

Just in case you were wondering, this is a nappy headed ho…

 

Where our oil really comes from

Ever wonder where we get all our oil from? This also helps explain why we don’t do much about illegal immigration. Our oil imports