Get a rope

A handful of CIA/NSA officials are putting the lives of countless spy personnel in danger, not to mention the entire US by releasing confidential information relating to our ability to gather intelligence - intel that has (according to the NYT story in question) already thwarted some attacks.

First they "leak" the info about the CIA airlines. Then they leak the info about the overseas prisons. Now they leak the info about the wiretap of international phone calls. It seems the only “leaker” that gets any scrutiny is the one that made the administration look somewhat good (Plame leak). Why aren’t we in an uproar over these other well-placed leaks? I know - its because Rove isn’t behind those leaks.

At what point does the exercise of First Amendment rights morph into treason? It seems like people associate treason with something that could only happen back during the Revolutionary War. It is as much a real issue now as it ever was. We are all free to question policy and disagree with policy, but when we actively (by leaking classified information) oppose legal procedures by our government in a time of war – that has to be at least considered treasonous.

In 1990 the US had figured out the type of cell phone used by Bin Laden and the particulars around how he used it – so that we may listen in. But somehow the press found this out and published it. Guess what? Bin Laden stopped using that phone and we stopped getting our intel. Point being - our actions carry consequences. The person who leaks the classified information should recognize the harm he is causing, and the media should recognize the harm caused by publishing. If the media wanted to run a “watch-dog” story on perceived abuses by the administration, it could do so without disclosing the particulars.

You can sit there and wish our troops were not engaged in a war. You can wish that the Jihadists don’t want you dead. You can pretend that America will be safe if we only pull out now (funny, I don’t recall us being engaged with Iraq or Afghanistan prior to 9/11 – as if those were the reasons they attacked us). But none of that wishing will get rid of the facts. And whether you like it or not, real people are in harms way to ensure that we don’t have to be. Leaking classified information, especially during a time of war, for petty partisan gain puts us all in harms way and is below reprehensible. It is treason. And if we ever uncover who did the leaking, they should be tried and once convicted - hung!

Tis the Season to be Thankful

This Christmas season has been just as hectic as the last 6 (they started getting that way the time I started really working). This, despite my resolution each year to finally stop and ‘smell the roses’ known as family. It is only now, as I sit hear after a torrid week of work that I can sit still and reflect on how very special my life is.

I’m not sure where to start, and I suppose this is in no particular order, but here is what I am thankful for in 2005. My thanks goes to directly to God for blessing me with the following:

- A wonderful wife and mother to my boys who sleeps so lightly at night so that I can sleep so soundly. A wife who takes care of the house, the bills, the birthday parties, etc while still managing to work 40 hours a week – that’s something to be thankful for.

- Two awesome boys who bring so much joy to me. Each night I open the door and Jackson exclaims, “Daddy – your home!” while Jacob runs to me with a huge grin and his open arms, speaking some language that I’m certain translates into, “Daddy – your home!” Man, if that aint enough to make you forget about all the troubles of the world, I don’t know what is.

- A good job - paying a good salary. Which pays for all the junk in my kids closet and room!

- The DART train. Sounds odd? If not for the train, I would not have had the time to read the awesome books I did this past year. The topics have ranged from hard-core quantum mechanics, to religion, to finance, to politics and as always, the wild west (Elmer Kelton in particular). Reading is exercise for the mind. These books have strengthened my imagination, my spirit and my politics.

- A wonderful grandmother (known as Nanny in our household) who prays every night for my family and I. Nanny, who while living on a tiny fixed income, will give one of her grandkids her last penny for the month so that they can feed their kids and turn on their electricity. I thank God that I don’t need this type of physical assistance from her, but I do need her prayers, and I am thankful.

- For Papaw. For hanging on to this world on that day in January, just long enough for me to make it down from my house in time to say I love you. For holding off St. Peter long enough for me to say the things that your suppose to say way in advance.

- For the Patriots standing in harms way, who, even as I type this, are likely taking fire right now to protect everything that I love in this world. The men and women of our armed forces who risk their lives to spread freedom where there was none. The warriors who deal out swift justice to those who kill innocent people. The sentries who eliminate the threats to my country before they even have time to become a threat. I am thankful for their service and I wish them continued success so that they may soon be reunited with those that love them even more than I.

- For my parents. It would take more hard drive space than this computer has to list out how fortunate I am to have my mom and dad – lets just leave it at that. I can only hope my boys look back 20 years from now and feel as proud of me as I do my parents.

- For groups like the Alliance Defense Fund who will fight the war against our religious freedoms even though many of us are not even aware of the severity of the attack

- For Howard Dean. For ensuring that Republicans will maintain their majority in Congress for years to come (you didn’t really think I would close without a political point – did you).

Well, those are the big ones, but not the only ones. Each member of my family is special to me - my brother and sister, their children. And I suppose if you twist my arm hard enough, I could even admit to having a pretty good mother-in-law (who despite having raised two odd daughters, appears to be doing a good job with her 16-year-old son. At least he appears to have some sense on him, unlike his older sisters).

I suppose that now that I have gotten that off my chest I have just enough time to get out of here and run to the mall. I gotta get those two globes, the cell phone, the new toy, pick up something to eat, grab some batteries, get the…….

Merry Christmas!

Merry Winter Holiday Season

It seems like the last few years, just about this time, we hear stories about the attack on the word “Christmas”. Most liberals dismiss this at right wing, Christian right nonsense. But this really is a lazy or naïve dismissal. Or perhaps its just another attack on all things perceived to be platforms of the “Christian right”. In reality, it takes only a little digging to compare our current political correctness during the “Holidays” to how we went about discussing this time of year just 10-15 years ago. Go to any newspaper archive and compare the 1980’s Christmas specials to today’s Holiday specials.

I find it hard to believe that there is anyone out there who doesn’t admit to the secularization of Christmas. By secularization, I refer to the increased importance given to gift giving and material adoration than time spent reflecting on the meaning of Christmas and time spent enjoying family. This transformation is not a mere 10-15 years in the making, but multi-generational. This secularization is not just the handiwork of non-Christians, but of all those who celebrate Christmas in some form or fashion. Anyone who stands in line at 4am the day after Thanksgiving (Christian or not) in order to get the best deal on the latest gadget is responsible for this type of secularization. But even the concept of gift giving has a basis in Christianity (not that the Three Wise Men shopped at Best Buy or anything). So I suppose this secularization doesn’t bother me as much as the other.

The other that I refer to is the trend that is most disturbing - the effort to whitewash “Christ” from Christmas - the concerted effort in the name of diversity to replace Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays. The idea that tolerance and respect for minority views somehow equates to intolerance and disregard for the majority is tragic. We would rather call the company party a Holiday Party than a Christmas Party so that we don’t offend the two Muslims working in accounting. We somehow think it is better to ban all Christmas carols from the school play than to take a chance that a Jewish or Hindu person may “feel” uncomfortable.

This trend, this whitewash, is not the only aspect that bothers me though. The combination of removing the word Christmas while still including other religion displays is what is ruffling my feathers. When was the last time you heard someone call the menorah a “Holiday Candle”? Why is it acceptable to display the menorah and the Muslim star and crescent, but we cant display a nativity scene on public property? Why is ok to call the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by its name but not ok to call a single day in December – Christmas?

Displaying the other religious symbols, while suppressing Christian language, symbols and customs in a predominately Christian society is not inclusive. It is an insult to 90% of Americans who celebrate Christmas.

Remember, the Constitution does not protect us against “feeling” excluded. We have no “feeling” protections. The Constitution does, however, protect us from discrimination. But it seems to be doing a poor job of protecting Christians against discrimination when it comes to the celebration of one of our holiest times of the year - Christmas.

Give me the unfiltered facts

The Dallas Morning News is highly insulting to all legal immigrants who have come to the country lawfully when today they describe an illegal alien who murdered a Dallas police officer over the weekend as a “Mexican immigrant”. He is not – at least according to WFAA TV on Sunday who cited that he is here illegally. Can the DMN not see the distinction between immigrant and alien? Do words not have specific meaning?

Quit being so danged politically correct. This is similar to refusing to call the Paris rioters Muslim when that is exactly what most of them are. It is not racist. It is just the facts. When the IRA was in full battle mode in Northern Ireland, almost every story mentioned IRA and Catholicism in the same sentence. Why is the word Muslim so taboo?

It is not the job of the media to coddle certain groups of people. Give us the facts. I want to know if someone who commits a crime is here legally or not. It doesn’t have to be bold and centered, but just include it. We are told that illegal aliens don’t commit crimes for fear of deportation. Ok - if that is true, it shouldn’t be a problem identifying those “few” that do.

We are told that Islam is a religion of peace. Ok – it should not be a problem identifying those “few” examples of terror that are carried out in the name of Islam. No more sugar coating – it is driving me insane.

If race truly doesn’t matter then that’s ok. I can buy off on that. But make it the policy across the board to not identify anyone’s race or religion in a story. Unfortunately that is not the case. It is a selective process by which certain groups are not identified.

It won’t be long before I read a story like, “A person caused harm to another person in some neighborhood.” We can’t identify the attacker because they may be something other than a white male. We do not want to identify the victim for sound reasons that I cant argue. We can’t identify the neighborhood, because it might be some place other than the white suburbs and people would draw an inference on the neighborhood racial or religious makeup.

I want to know “who, what, when, where, and why”. I want the “who” to be descriptive and factual. I don’t want to read a story that is written under the assumption that I may suddenly become a racist if I read that someone other than a white male committed a crime. Give me the news in the news section. Give me your editorials in the editorial section. I do not want to have to decipher on my own whether I am reading a news piece or an opinion piece.

The great oil scare of 2005

Yesterday, several top oil executives were called to testify before Congress on high energy costs. Specifically, they were called to explain why they were making so much money of late. You can read the story here. What business is it of Congress how much money a legal company is making? Ok, I’ll grant you that Congress should be concerned about price fixing, gauging of the consumers. But that is not what is going on here, and it is clear to anyone who paid attention in high school economics.

There is an enormous worldwide demand for oil right now. We all know that supply is stickier than demand –it takes longer for supply to catch up (assuming in this case it can catch up) to rising demand. If the markets are not allowed to work freely, which is what several legislators are calling for with this silly idea of a “windfall profit tax”, we will see temporary price decreases, but we will also experience energy shortages. We all know how that worked back in the 70’s, right? If you are a producer of oil, and you are going to get taxed at x% over a certain profit – why would you continue to produce oil once you hit that profit mark? You wouldn’t – and that will lead to an even thinner oil supply. It makes no sense. What makes even less sense is that this tax would only affect the U.S producers (a small percent of world production). If you are an investor, why would you invest in a U.S oil firm that is getting taxed at a higher rate when you can just invest in an overseas firm – you wouldn’t? Are you starting to see what nonsense this “windfall profit tax” is?

But wait, there is more. Some of the same legislators who summoned the oil executives for show and tell - as of yesterday, decided not to open parts of ANWAR to oil drilling – and decided not to allow drilling off the east and west coasts. Specifially, the decided not to allow the States to decide on allowing drilling off thier coasts! So long Federalism. The Senate last month included ANWAR drilling in their budget bill, and the House removed it from theirs yesterday. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out in joint committee. But it strikes me as hypocritical to lambaste big oil for high oil/gas prices while at the same time refusing to allow the domestic expansion of oil/gas production at home. Not to mention that a new refinery has not been built in the U.S since the 1970’s!!

So, who is to blame? Of course, the usual Democratic suspects, but this time, a few Republicans have succumbed to the hysteria as well. I have been thoroughly disappointed in the Republican Party this year. Grow a spine for crying out loud! Republicans have a majority, and not by just one vote either. Quit trying to play nice. Democrats don’t know what nice is.

As I re-read this, I realize it isn’t super coherent. But writing it down was certainly therapeutic for me. I am just really sick of liberals crying about oil/gas prices as they drive the cars (that use gas) down the freeway (made with petroleum products) to their office (heated and cooled by petroleum products), while at the same time refusing to allow the U.S to tap a fraction of its natural resources that can be used to help alleviate the supply problem.

This needs more covereage

I have been too busy at work to post anything original lately. For the three of you that actually visit my board, please read Michelle Malkin’s piece today about the OU “suicide” bombing.

Hopefully things will slow down at work, or something will come along that sufficiently ticks me off enough to write something original.

Major change in the Dallas radio scene

I have only been interested in politics for short period of time – the last 6 years or so. I’m not sure where it all started. I wasn’t particularly political in college. I never really concerned myself with liberal bias on campus or unfair speech codes and such. I sure as heck never participated in an affirmative action cookie sale (controversial genius). It was sometime around the end of the Clinton years that I really discovered my conservative roots.

For most people, being a political junkie means following the days topics in the paper or on line and cussing to yourself when you see something that jumps out as - well, cuss worthy. Few of us have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion with others who do not share our political viewpoint (political correctness put an end to that several years ago – hard to debate someone when you are always “offending” them). To some extent, the blogsphere has created such a forum for debate, but even then, most blog comments are in support of that blog’s overall theme and you are still left lacking for true give and take.

I, on the other hand, have had an amazing opportunity these past few years to not only engage in discussion and debate with others, but to broaden my horizons in a way I never thought possible. I’m talking about the P1 Wild Ass Circus on The Ticket (1310 AM in Dallas). Those reading this blog will be familiar with the show – no need to rehash the unique format that made the show a success. What started out as a couple of random “co-host” appearances on the show turned into one of the best experiences I have had.

Some of the highlights include: spending a day with Jose Canseco (after spending a day and a half on the road with Richard, Turley, Devin and Joe Michael), damn near getting Jose to cry after Turley planted a sweetheart of a question in my ear, interviewing noted liberal Al Franken (and getting into an argument with him over national employment numbers), interviewing Jose again after his book came out and discussing the steroid scandal, debating first amendment issue with Bruce the pornographer, interviewing Tommy Chong, winning the first ever WAC award for Best P1 Celebrity Interview (I would like to thank my parents, the academy….), and so many others, which I’m sure will come back to me over time.

So, what does this have to do with politics? Easy – this show gave me an opportunity to discuss politics with those who did not share my view - in some cases, with those who despised my view. And not just with those in studio, but also with people who would call in when we touched on a particularly hot topic (of which there were plenty leading up to the last Presidential election). I mention all this because, as of September 30, 2005, The Ticket has decided to cancel the P1 Wild Ass Circus. And for that, I am saddened.

I have no other radio experience to compare this to, but I can’t imagine any harder working duo than Richard and Turley. There is no doubt they will find another home for this show - if not this show, then something else. There is too much talent to waste by not having these guys work the radio waves. So, I’m not really sad for these two. I am sad for the metroplex. We are losing the one true format that helped revitalize the Great American Debate. You don’t get that kind of give and take with regular talk radio shows. You certainly don’t get the diversity of opinion you got from The Circus. And you wont find Al Franken or Rush Limbaugh giving near equal time to opposing opinions like Richard did (Note: that is NEAR equal. I still had lots more to say to Franken!!!).

I don’t know why the show was canceled – I assume it was a ratings issue, but I have my doubts on that. I just know that the metroplex is losing something special.

To all those who I have shared the mic with over the last couple of years, and to Richard “Big Dick” Hunter – Thank you! It was an awesome ride.

More nonsense from me

I want to use today as a day to play catch up. It seems the anti-Bush faction has made some seriously flawed analysis over the last few weeks, and I just want to see how the scorecard reads.

Lets start with the Karl Rove story. Just two months ago I was on the air on the WAC (which can be heard weeknights from 8-10 on Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket) getting an earful from the liberal contingent on how Rove should step down – how he was going to be exposed for the political hack that he is, how he lied, compromised an “undercover agent”, etc, etc. I can’t recall hearing a single story in the last two months on this. What happened?

What about the Katrina, Bush hates black people, story? Just 5 or 6 days after Katrina hit, every man women and child in the blue states was blaming the entire fiasco on President Bush. Blaming him for everything from causing the hurricane (you know – because he didn’t sign the Kyoto treaty. Never mind it was the full Congress that completely rejected the treaty), withholding guard troops because he doesn’t like black people, to staffing FEMA with unqualified political cronies (well…you maybe on to something on this one).

Now that the dust has cleared, or the water has settled, it turns out that the un-informed/ill-informed are getting a civics lesson in how our republican form of government works. You know, states rights and all. Having a President conduct operations in a state without being granted permission by that state is tantamount to King George taxing the colonies without representation. Our founders specifically did not allow this in the new form of government. There are very few instances where the President can control state actions regardless of whether he has an invite or not. And what about the cause of the hurricane? I mean, hurricanes these days are way stronger and more frequent than they use to be – right? Uh, wrong. In fact, here is the homework assignment for today. Provide me a list of all category 5 hurricanes since 1900 – and then, attempt to explain to me how global warming has caused the increase. If you can do that, I will donate $25 to the Red Cross in your name – no joke. Here is a hint though: you wont be able to win this bet. Category 5 hurricanes are DECLINING in frequency!

Anyways, I would love to hear from my liberal friends out there on their thoughts on today’s topics. I wonder if anyone is willing to admit their hatred for President Bush has slightly impeded their ability for sound reasoning. I didn’t really plan on writing this much. I haven’t even touched on Iraq yet. Seems that the Iraqi’s have 82 battalions of combat ready troops as of this morning (according the Gen Richard Meyers). I only tell you that as a public service – you won’t be reading about that in your local paper.

Have a great weekend. I hope to be getting my membership packet this weekend for the Secret Neo-Con Society. We are working on our next vast conspiracy. Details to come.

Thoughts for the day

The ‘Great Storm of 05’ came through my area last night - serious rain, thunder and enough lightning to knock my power off for over an hour. The power going off was not a major deal for me at first. I actually enjoyed the darkness and semi-quiet for a bit. That is, until the kids got over their initial excitement and became bored. So, I did what any father would do, I loaded the Wiggles into my laptop’s DVD player for some instant entertainment.

Now, of all nights, this was the night my insurance agent was suppose to come over for me to sign new insurance documents. He shows up around 7:45 or so and my wife and I start signing by candlelight. I’m pretty sure we were authorizing new coverage for our house and car, but given the poor lighting, I may have sold my oldest son to a goat farmer in Iraq – not sure. I’m either saving $60 a month or receiving 60 goats in exchange. I guess only time will tell.

The electricity came back on around 9 – thanks to those hard working Reliant, or is it TXU workers (I never really know where my electricity comes from). I immediately turned the thermostat down to 72 to make up for lost time. I suppose by doing this I am responsible for another child dying over in Iraq for President Bush’s oil – but hey, I’m a Republican. I’m supposed to be a heartless consumer of scarce natural resources. Shortly after the house cooled down, I went outside and shot a few spotted owls.

One final thought for they day. This doesn’t really go with the first story, but not significant enough to warrant its own space. Is it just me, or is it really rude to talk on the phone while you’re in a public restroom? Not standing at the urinal mind you, but sitting in the stall. This incident occurred this morning at work – and it just really struck me as odd.

Old Hippies

Mike Adams is one of my favorite columnists. His satire and wit is only rivaled by my favorite flame-thrower, Anne Coulter – yet he is not as hateful as she. Mr. Adams is a professor at UNC-Wilmington (I think) and often writes about his real life experiences with liberal leanings in academia. Today’s topic is not academic related, but a fun read nonetheless.

You can find Mr Adams’ work on www.townhall.com




Sugar MountainMike S. Adams
September 20, 2005

When Neil Young wrote the song “Sugar Mountain” in the 1960s, he was just a teenager. The song wasn’t about a real place. It was about coming to terms with growing up and leaving one’s childhood behind. I was 18 the first time I heard him sing the line, “You can’t be twenty on Sugar Mountain.” Today it’s still one of my favorite songs.

Last winter I went to an actual place in North Carolina called Sugar Mountain. The occasion was a youth ski trip organized by a local church. I was a chaperone. One of the other chaperones was a former hippie from the 1960s. He’s not really a hippie anymore, although he’s still a liberal. Now he’s raising four kids.

I learned a lot about both the 60s and liberalism, just by spending four days in the mountains with that former hippie. I wrote this column to pass on what I learned. I would hate for my readers to have to experience such a trip firsthand in order to get the knowledge I obtained through so much frustration.

My fellow chaperone got to go skiing for free since he paid for one of his children to go on the ski trip. I was a little perplexed when he showed up with, not one, but three of his children, since two of them had not paid for the trip. He just thought that he would bring them along in case some of the kids who paid didn’t show up. That way, along with him, two of his kids could ski for free. Even though that wasn’t the case, he asked if they could bum a ride to the mountains to spend some time with their older sister (who also ended up joining us later). The youth director graciously complied with his request.

When we got on the bus, the former-hippie-turned-chaperone began to take charge. He approached the bus driver (who happened to be black) and offered to tell him how to get from Wilmington to the location just east of Asheville where the group was staying. For those who don’t know, it is a straight shot up I-40, just one road for six hours.

But the former-hippie-turned-navigator had another route in mind. It involved going to South Carolina to pick up I-26. He spoke real slowly to the bus driver, hoping that he could sell him his “short-cut.” When the driver refused, he warned us that “this guy is going to need a lot of guidance.” When we looked at him, we only saw a professional bus driver. When the former hippie looked at him, he apparently saw an unintelligent black man. I have found that you can usually identify a liberal by the way he talks to black people. This was certainly no exception.
By following the route of the bus driver, we made it to our destination in less than six hours. But the driver had never been to Sugar Mountain, so we needed someone to navigate the next morning. The former hippie volunteered. The youth director consented. I didn’t voice my concerns because I thought it would be funny to watch him get lost. I also planned to time him before I offered to get us home later that night, betting that I could do so in half the time.
No one on the bus realized anything was wrong until we saw the signs saying “Welcome to Tennessee.” A sixth grader asked why we would go from a place in eastern North Carolina to a more central place in North Carolina via Tennessee. I said “by dropping lots of acid in the 60s.” Fortunately, she didn’t get the joke.

As we were entering Tennessee, I thought about the former hippie’s daughter who was wearing black leather boots and a ton of mascara. She had a pin on her jacket that said “Bush is stupid.” I wanted to ask her whether she thought that Bush was stupid enough to wind up in Tennessee while traveling westward through North Carolina (on the way to western North Carolina). But I didn’t want to interrupt her. She was reading Chomsky.
We made it to Sugar Mountain in just less than three hours. Later that day I heard the former hippie telling several of the kids that our tardiness was the bus driver’s fault because he missed several turns. Later someone (I wonder who?) reported the driver to the bus company for bad driving. The driver got in trouble with his boss, but at least the former-hippie-turned-whistle-blower was spared the embarrassment of taking the blame for getting everyone lost. I guess you could call it a little white lie.

At the end of the day, the former hippie was delighted to learn the youth director was not going to ski all weekend due to an ailing foot. He was also glad to hear that I would not be skiing because of an old Achilles tendon injury. That meant extra passes for the rest of his family. Now he could rest easy while I navigated the trip home in just one hour and 21 minutes.
In the morning, when we met for a buffet breakfast, the former hippie sat down with an enormous plate of food. He had a bowl of fruit, eggs, biscuits, five cartons of milk, and (literally) a bunch of bananas. I thought there was no way he could eat all of “his” food. I was right. He stuffed most of it in his coat and offered it to his (now four) children on the bus. Apparently, none could afford breakfast, even though four of the five members of the family were now skiing for free.

I almost felt sorry for the family until I found out they were wealthy. The oldest daughter went to a private college and paid $40,000 tuition her freshman year. Her father went there, too. It seems they were old money liberals.

The youngest child of my former-hippie/fellow chaperone was nine. He refused to drink the free milk and eat the free fruit that daddy had stolen for the rest of his family. Instead, he ate a whole carton of chocolate fudge cookies for breakfast. By the end of his breakfast the hyperactive child was shaking so badly he couldn’t hold his gloves anymore.
But before the trip was over, the kid started bragging about how his family had twenty pairs of ski goggles, although they hadn’t paid for a single one. “When someone leaves them at a table in the ski lodge, we just take them, don’t we daddy?” My fellow chaperone quickly replied, “No, son! Shut up and stop being so annoying!” It was the only form of discipline to come from former-hippie-turned-daddy all weekend.

Later, when the youngest child of the hippie-turned-ski-goggle-looter asked me to watch “his” goggles, I considered it a “teachable moment.” I told him, “Don’t you know that private property is the root of all evil? From each according to his ability…” I was interrupted by a swift kick under the table from the youth director.

And that was pretty much how the whole weekend went. The adult chaperones spend most of their time looking after the hippie-turned-chaperone to make sure that he didn’t get anyone lost, fired, or thrown in jail for stealing food or ski equipment. I was so focused on controlling him that I just ignored his daughter when she started crushing hundreds of croutons with her fist at the Pizza Hut salad bar.

When we got back from the trip, I was unsurprised to learn that the liberal chaperone once decided to have picnic with his family underneath a tree in a neighbor’s front yard. Of course, he didn’t ask his neighbor first. He just laid out a blanket and started playing his guitar and munching granola with his wife and four children. We must always remember that friends don’t let friends drop acid - at least not every day for a whole decade. The effects tend to linger for years, sometimes even decades.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that every liberal hippie from the 60s is a full-blown sociopath like my fellow chaperone. But the symptoms are always the same, aren’t they? His condescension towards blacks, his unwavering arrogance in the wake of his own obvious stupidity, his looting and hoarding of limited resources, his lack of respect for the truth, his the lack of respect for the property of others, and, mostly, his refusal to grow up.

My weekend in the mountains reminded me that liberalism is not really a political philosophy. Instead, it is a state of arrested emotional development. It is a way of thinking, which leads to no place in the real world. It is a place existing only in the imagination.

Perhaps Neil Young said it best in the 1960s: “Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain, with the barkers and the colored balloons. You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain, though you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon…”

Hiking Trip

“Somebody in Chaco Canyon Loves Me” is what the T-shirt says. Well, actually, it doesn’t. In fact, I don’t think the ranger station even sold T-shirts, but it should. I spent 8 hours this past weekend in an area of New Mexico that is regarded by many Native Americans as sacred, and is regarded by the Parks Department as a World Heritage site – Chaco Canyon. It is such a “worldly site” that our tour guide on one of the excursions was an exchange student from Italy.

Chaco Canyon is about 2 hours northwest of Albuquerque. An hour and half of which is on a paved highway – not a bad drive. Even the last 30 minutes of dirt road wasn’t bad either, until we came to the low water crossing. As our luck would have it, it rained the night before (being that this is the desert, rain is a rarity). The sign clearly said “Do not cross if water is flowing over the road”. Forget that! I didn’t fly 1.5 hours, and drive another two to turn back at that point. It took me about 15 seconds to convince my dad that our Mitsubishi Gallant could make it – and it did. The argument I presented went like this, “Dad. This is a rental car and the water aint that deep.” End of story - adventure #1 out of the way.


The Chacoan ruins are spread throughout the canyon on an 8 mile paved loop. It sure was nice of those ancient people to build close to the pavement. You can park you car and walk about 100-200 yards to the structures. The buildings range from being partially excavated to fully excavated to the point that you can walk through many of the rooms. One of the most impressive and the biggest, fully excavated was Pueblo Bonito. This thing was huge. It was at least 4 stories tall back around 900 – 1150 AD; currently the walls in some places are still 3 stories. Half of the pueblo is accessible – everything but the Kivas – which are round pits built into the ground for religious ceremonies and such.


Up until this point, the trip was very cool, in an ancient sort of way. But we came for some hiking and hiking is what we did. Just up the road from Pueblo Bonito is the Pueblo Alto trailhead. This is the beginning of a 2.5-mile direct hike to Pueblo Alto or a 6-mile loop hike. The elevation change was only 500 feet from the canyon floor to the top of the mesa, but it was a fairly vertical ascent up large boulders and through an impressive rock chimney that would cause many people’s claustrophobia to act up. Once on top of the mesa it was about a half mile hike back above Pueblo Bonito for an excellent photo opportunity – taking in the entire Pueblo form on top. Another mile up the terraced steps to the ultimate top of the mesa and you arrived at Pueblo Alto - not nearly as well excavated but still worth the trip. The view looking out one of the doors of that Pueblo out into the canyon below was awesome.


After leaving Chaco, we made the 2-hour drive to Santa Fe National Forest. Just north of Santa Fe and close to Los Alamos. What a difference 2 hours makes in the change of scenery. Scouted out the trailhead #137 that we were looking for and then went back to find some place to camp for the night. I won’t bore you with the camping details. It was pretty uneventful - other than to say we made a serious mistake by getting a cheap 2-man tent. Note to self, cut the occupancy in half based on what the box says.

Started the morning hike at 7 am after eating a breakfast of nothing. Breakfast was one of the things we overlooked when preparing for this excursion. We did have plenty of trail mix and some apples, which I quickly devoured about 45 minutes in. There are two trails you can take from the starting point. The first is a casual quarter-mile stroll to a really scenic waterfall – very easy. We did that in about 10 minutes, and then made it back to the “real” trail. This one is about a 3-mile trip to the McCauley Hot Springs. The first mile is mostly downhill and not too difficult. About 30 minutes in, there is a split in the trail off to the left – unmarked. Taking this split would prove to be one of the best experiences I have ever had. About 50 yards down you come to a jagged rocky overlook that peeks out of the forest. The view from the top of these rocks is unbelievable. The entire forest valley spreading out below and wilderness as far as the eye can see.

The next mile or so was up and down and varied from easy to strenuous. The final mile or so was mostly uphill. After about 2 hours we arrived at the springs. And after removing my shoes and getting in, I realized they should rename it the “Warm Springs” instead of “Hot Springs”. We rested here for about 30 minutes and started back. It was much harder going back given the uphill nature and being out of hiking shape.
That’s it. I would recommend this hike to anyone – from beginners to intermediate hikers. Those serious trailblazers may not find this super challenging, but it was about as much as I could take. Enjoy the pictures below and give me a ring next time anyone wants to take off to nowhere.

Unemployment Rate

Good news on the economy. Unemployment rate fell to 4.9%. Just a shot in the dark here, but I'm guessing the fact that over 1 million people in New Orleans and surrounding areas may be without a job for a while, this number is going to climb.

Surprising Speach From the Left? Hardly.

Chrenkoff has a list of representative quotes from the left regarding Katrina. He calls them "exploitation quotes", I call them discraceful. Its a good sampling of hatred from political characters to the man on the street. Here is one of my favorites:


"10. Joseph Cannon at BradBlog was initially feeling just as compassionate, but then he changed his mind - somewhat:

So why was I thinking of starting a movement against giving aid to the stricken areas?Because these are red states. They voted for Bush. These ninnies obviously wanted these policies, and they deserve to live with the consequences of their votes.A large part of me still believes that many of these W-worshipping numbskulls deserve to suffer and to die. They brought it on themselves. Let them look to Jayzuss for aid: It's time they stopped leeching off the more productive blue staters...But then (to paraphrase the old song) I thought I'd better think it out again.Many of the victims, the ones who have suffered the most, are poor. The hardest hit were the blue state folk living among the red state maniacs. New Orleans, we should note, went heavily for Kerry.And that's why we must help. Although it was very tempting to say otherwise.

But let us make one thing clear: We WILL politicize this issue.The Republicans did not shirk from making political use of 9/11, and we should not shirk from reminding the country that Bush turned what should have been a mere problem into Ragnarok.Conservatives may accuse us of lacking taste if we use this sad occasion to point out sadder facts of political life. Cable news pundits will try to pretend that now is not the time for partisan politics.If they say that, screw 'em.If the Bush-voters want Californians and New Yorkers and other blue staters to fork over dough, then they damn well had better take our words as well. Republican policies caused this catastrophe. Force them to hear that message -- again and again. That message is the price of the charity they now demand. "



You gotta love the compashion that these people show. What a great American this guy is. Willing to help out only those who voted against Bush in the last election. You want to know why I have become more vocal the past couple of years in my political beliefs? It is to counter the assholes like Joseph Cannon who epitomize everything the left stands for. And to be fair to my few level headed left leaning brethren, I will throw in the word "majority" when I say the left. I realize there are a few liberals who will do thier part without considering whether the person they are helping is a rebublican or democract.

America's Most Wanted - Looters

I have struggled with writing something regarding the devastation left behind from Katrina. I have pretty strong opinions when it comes to political topics (no - seriously. I do). The destruction and clean-up stories are being covered everywhere. And each one I read brings me closer to tears.

But there are two topics related to Katrina that make me sick. The first comes from the leftist’s communists, eco-terrorists, represented by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who are blaming the hurricane on the Bush Administration’s rejection of the Kyoto agreement. I do not have the time or the will to discuss the ignorance of this argument right now. Judging by the majority of the comments on the leftwing Huffington Blog, most people (left and right) feel the same way I do. If anyone cares to argue the point we can do that later. It will undoubtedly be a very short argument.

The other issue that disturbs me is the looting and lawlessness that is taking place in New Orleans and surrounding devastated areas. This is disturbing, tragic, and sad and I am struggling to understand what type of American would do this. The same type of American who looted in New York in the 70’s, Los Angeles in the 90’s, and New Orleans today. At least, it appears to be the same demographics. Poor, mostly black men and women taking from those trusting individuals (of all races) who evacuated as told ahead of the storm. Individuals who trusted their fellow Americans to not take what was left behind.

I think it is important to separate looters into two types. The first group is people who have gone 48 hours or more without food and water and are breaking into stores to fulfill those basic life-sustaining needs. These people have my sympathy and I do not look down on them, as I would do exactly the same thing in that situation.

The second group, however, should be shot on site. Those breaking into stores and walking out with flat screen TV’s (hey idiots, you won’t have electricity for a month or so – good luck with that T.V.), jewelry, radios, etc. These people are so brazen in their looting that they are doing this in broad daylight within site of public officials who are frantically searching for survivors. Where is the Korean storekeeper who we saw in LA armed with his gun to keep away the looters? I’ll tell you – he is in Dallas, or Houston, or Shreveport – praying that he made the right decision to leave behind all he owned for the sake of saving his family’s life.

I pray these looters don’t make it into the evacuation buses headed for my city. This type of individual will have a field day in Dallas. We already have the worst crime rate in the country. I’m not sure this city is ready to handle the long-term effects of relocating hundreds of lawless individuals to a town already know for its lawlessness.

So the question is why? Why does one particular demographic have a proclivity, given certain situations, to take from others in the middle of such tragedy? Is it because they have “felt repressed by the man” for so long that they are fighting back? If so, then how do you explain the looting in LA by minorities in minority communities? Is this behavior prevalent in all races and we only see the manifestation of it in minorities because those just happen to be the sectors hit the hardest in the previously sited incidents? I don’t have the answers. And if you started reading this because you thought I did – I’m sorry. This is more of a “thinking out load” exercise for me. I’m trying to understand where all the good Americans went – the ones we saw in New York on 9/11. The ones we found out about on Flight 93. The ones we read about fighting in Iraq (well, at least those of us who read something other than The Times). I know they are there in New Orleans. I just wish they didn’t have to compete for airtime with the criminals.

We the sons of Mesopotamia...

Just when I thought there wasn’t anything worthwhile happening in that “second-Vietnam” we call Iraq – those anti-American, anti-democracy, ungrateful Iraqis go and write something like this (I pray the sarcasm wasn’t lost on that):

Please pay careful attention to Article One – for all those concerned that the new Iraq is worse than the old one governed by a single ruthless dictator who got his jollies off gassing Kurds and throwing newspaper publishers off buildings.

The Draft of the Iraq Constitution (thier first in case you are counting)

PREAMBLE
We the sons of Mesopotamia, land of the (messengers), prophets, resting place of the holy imams, the leaders of civilization and the creators of the alphabet, the cradle of arithmetic: on our land, the first law put in place by mankind was written; in our nation, the most noble era of justice in the politics of nations was laid down; on our soil, the followers of the prophet and the saints prayed, the philosophers and the scientists theorized and the writers and poets created.
Recognizing God's right upon us; obeying the call of our nation and our citizens; responding to the call of our religious and national leaders (and our national forces and politicians) and the insistence of our great religious authorities and our leaders and our reformers, we went by the millions for the first time in our history to the ballot box, men and women, young and old, on Jan. 30, 2005, remembering the pains of the despotic band's sectarian oppression; inspired by the suffering of Iraq's martyrs -- Sunni and Shiite, Arab, Kurd and Turkomen, and the remaining brethren in all communities -- inspired by the injustice against the holy cities (and the south) in the popular uprising and (burnt with the sorrows of the mass graves, the marches and Dujail and others); recalling the agonies of the national oppression in the massacres of Halabja, Barzan, Anfal and against the Faili Kurds; inspired by the tragedies of the Turkomen in Bashir, and as in other parts of Iraq, (the people of the western region have suffered from the liquidation of its leaders, symbols, tribal leaders and displacing its intellectuals, so we worked hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder) to create a new Iraq, Iraq of the future, without sectarianism, racial strife, regionalism, discrimination and (elimination).

Terrorism and "takfir" (Editors Note: takfir means to declare someone an infidel) did not divert us from moving forward to build a nation of law. Sectarianism and racism did not stop us from marching together to strengthen our national unity, set ways to peacefully transfer power, adopt a manner to fairly distribute wealth and give equal opportunity to all.
We the people of Iraq, newly arisen from our disasters and looking with confidence to the future through a democratic, federal, republican system, are determined -- men and women, old and young -- to respect the rule of law, reject the policy of aggression, pay attention to women and their rights, the elderly and their cares, the children and their affairs, spread the culture of diversity and defuse terrorism.

We are the people of Iraq, who in all our forms and groupings undertake to establish our union freely and by choice, to learn yesterday's lessons for tomorrow, and to write down this permanent constitution from the high values and ideals of the heavenly messages and the developments of science and human civilization, and to adhere to this constitution, which shall preserve for Iraq its free union of people, land and sovereignty.

CHAPTER ONE: BASIC PRINCIPLES
Article (1): The Republic of Iraq is an independent, sovereign nation, and the system of rule in it is a democratic, federal, representative (parliamentary) republic.

"Support our Troops"?

I have generally been in a pretty laid back mood lately. Things are going well at work. My boys are healthy (if not well-behaved…oh, the terrible two’s), and my wife is learning to cook! So, although there has been a lot to talk about in the current events section this past week or so, nothing has really risen to the level of blog-worthy for me. Until this…

There is something sickeningly hypocritical about claiming to “support the troops” while protesting the troops outside the hospital where they are recovering from their wounds. But yet, that is what each of these protestors say when interviewed, they do in fact “support the troops” - But they hold up sings that say “Maimed for lies” and “Die for Halliburton”. I would be interested in knowing what type of “support” the troops get from those posters.

Its not that I am the final arbiter of what is appropriate anti-war speech and what isn’t. But it seems to me that there are ample ways to get across you anti-war sentiment without disparaging the President or more importantly the troops. I don’t see anything wrong with “Bring our Troops Home” or “Give Peace a Chance”. After all, who doesn’t want the troops home in a time of peace?

It was good to see some counter-protests this weekend. I hope we get more of these around the country as the closet conservatives/closet patriots come out from their hiding and make their voices of support heard. We complain about the media’s constant coverage of the wacky left’s protests, all the while we sit at home and keep quiet. Lets not keep quiet anymore and at least see where that road leads us.

Great American Debate Ground Rules

Ground Rules for the Great American Debate:

1. Please come to the debate with an opinion (any opinion)

2. Fence sitting is frowned upon. Remember, this is a friendly debate, not a love-in

3. You cannot summarily dismiss information provided by an opponent based simply on the author or source of that information. Example: A conservative shouldn’t refuse to believe Al Franken when he says that President Bush lost more jobs than Hoover – until said conservative is able to pull the actual government data showing how big of a liar Al Franken really is.

4. Name-calling is frowned upon and profanity is not allowed. Names like “idiot” and “moron” should not be used until your opponent has clearly earned this label. You can’t earn a label like “moron” just because your opinion is different. Your opinion has to be based on a verifiable lie or misstatement, or your opinion is completely void of higher thinking – beyond say a 7th grade level.

5. If at the end of the debate, you can’t go have a beverage with your opponent and talk about something other than the debate topic, you have failed at the Great American Debate and lose your debating privileges for a month.

6. You do not have to have served in the military to have an opinion on military topics. Just like I am not on welfare, but I can have an opinion on welfare policies in this country. If previous life experiences were a determining factor for entry into the debate, the debate would be waged by only a small group of people depending on the topic. I didn’t serve in the military, but I am an educated person who is as current as any civilian can be on our foreign policy, I think I should have my opinion heard. Just like you may have never worked a day in your life, but you still get to tell us how our tax money should be spent. I wouldn’t tell you to “go get a job first”, and then come tell me about how the city/state/federal govt. should spend tax money. You don’t call me a “chicken-hawk” when I try to express an opinion on the war. Besides, whenever you use a word that was created by an extreme group or individual, you show the world that you are only good are reciting copy points (chicken-hawk vs femi-nazi).


These are not hard rules to follow. Yet, too many people think they already know it all and look down with contempt on those with different opinions. If you believe in something, but don’t have any facts, just say so. Some things can be a matter of faith or a gut feeling. Murder trials can be won without a body. Just don’t act like you have all the answers when your opponent questions your stance.

Local story

This morning I had a surprise edition to my morning reading material on my lawn. Evidentially, the Allen American Statesman decided to throw some free copies in our neighborhood. I didn’t have time to read much of it this morning, but one story featured something that I found amusing. The story was about a string of robberies where the thief was making off with lots of guns, among other things. The police offer/chief (not sure) said something along the lines of “that is why people need to lock their guns in safes…” Then the very next line talked about how the robber made off with guns, jewelry and SAFES!

So I suppose, you can lock you gun in your safe, in which case if someone breaks in at night, you wont have time to get to and if someone breaks in during the day, they will likely cart off your entire safe…either way, you cant win.

I think I will continue to keep mine within reach. That’s not to say those of us with little kids around shouldn’t take EVERY precaution against them getting their hands on it. Parents should always err on the side of their children’s safety versus their desire to be armed against the unlikely event of a home invasion.

Air America goes to court

The whole Air American turn Enron scandle is very intersting. I just wish I could read about it in the Dallas Morning News on my way in to work.....

Anyways, there are a couple of people doing some real investigative work on this issue - so there is nothing original that I can add to this. Check out the work of Michelle Malkin and Radio Equalizer via Powerlineblog.

Able Danger, Unable Commission

Folks, this should make your blood boil. Some of you newspaper junkies and current events junkies may have come across the recent story about the elite super secret, 8 member, military spy unit - Able Danger. You would have to be a newspaper junkie, because thus far, this has been buried deep, deep within the pages of the major news outlets.

It turns out that military intelligence knew about Mohammed Atta and three other highjackers a year before 9/11. Unfortunately ("Uunfortunate" is an understatement given the severity of what was to follow), the military was not allowed to share their knowledge with law enforcement. And why is that?

In 1995 top deputy to then-Attorney General Janet Reno, Jamie Gorelick, issued an order creating a "wall" that prevented intelligence on terrorists from being shared with law enforcement (Note: liberals should be familiar with "wall" terminology although in this case, this wall costs people their life, as opposed the supposed religion "wall" that strips people of their right to freely practice their religion). So strict was this "wall" that the branch of the FBI that deals with terrorism could not share their information with the branch of the FBI that deals with domestic issues - as an example.

The frustrating part of the story is that the 9/11Commission staffers (including the afore mentioned Gorelick) first denied knowing about the military spy unit Able Danger, but later admitted that they were indeed briefed on it, twice. How convenient that they commission failed to mention this in their 1,000 page report (certainly not for lack of space).

And as Deborah Orin of the NY Post points out here, Gorelick was warned about this order way back in 1995 by another Clinton appointee, US Attorney Mary Jo White, who headed up terror probes such as the prosecution of the first WTC bombing. White warned that this "wall" could lead to a loss of life, but Reno and Gorelick refused to budge. I'm guessing on the grounds that if the military spies told the domestic spies that someone was planning on flying planes into the WTC, that this would have somehow violated their civil rights. Can't have the military getting involved in civilian affairs and such.

If Gorelick would have been made to testify during the 9/11 Commission as some senators wanted, this would have all come out back then. Instead, the Commission went forward with their report, putting the majority of the blame for 9/11 on the Bush administration, while all along they knew that the Clinton administration, by way of the Attorney General's office "wall" memo - played a significant role in the failure of the "intelligence community" to stop the attacks.

Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) sums it up nicely, "The commission's refusal to investigate Able Danger after being notified of its existence, and its recent efforts to feign ignorance of the project while blaming others for supposedly withholding information on it, brings shame on the commissions."

You can bet that there will be more to come on this.

Lancaster Tigers Football

My high school alma matter is in the news this week. And it should come as no surprise that it is negative news. In fact, the only positive news comes in the spring when the boys and girls track team is winning state for the hundredth time in a row or when the boys basketball team is making another run at the elusive state tournament (even less likely now that the greatness of Joe Rushing is gone).

Instead, this news is about that Constitutional Right to play football. While I haven’t heard anyone frame it this way, in a roundabout way that is the case being made.

In order to understand the issues here lets agree on some facts: (1) Mr. Jackson had admitted to police in writing that he was involved in the armed robbery, and that he fired a shot at the fleeing defender (fortunately his aim is not as good as his receiving ability). (2) He has already contacted the family of the victim and said he was sorry. So all those claiming that the police are twisting his original statement around (you know, the statement where he confessed), Mr. Jackson is out there further proving his guilt by apologizing – I’m sure his attorney wasn’t too thrilled about that.

So, with those two pieces being known, it is beyond me how any school board would allow this type of individual to remain in school (as opposed to an alternative school), much less participate in football. His supporters say that he has a "right" to play until he has been found guilty. Uh, no. You have a right to keep and bear arms, or a right to not be locked away without a conviction. But you dont have a right to participate in extracurricular sports when you rob someone at gunpoint, and then shoot at them while they flee.

As bad as Kenny Rogers acted, at least he didnt go around saying he has a "right" to play baseball because he was not "convicted of assault" - yet. If Mr. Jackson had a "right" to play football, why didnt they bring suit against his former high school when they told him to get lost? I'll tell you why - they found a school district who was willing to put their reputation on the line (what little positive reputation is left) for the chance to win a few more ball games this year.

Chew on this, Lancaster was also in the news last week for suspending hundreds of students who didn’t complete their reading assignment over the summer (I'm not completely against this idea - but then they bowed to pressure and are giving the students more time to complete). Am I the only one who sees the hypocrisy in suspending students for not completing a summer reading assignment, but letting an admitted armed robber play football?

Note to Lancaster administration: The old saying that all publicity is good publicity doesnt really apply. Do something positive for a change, and maybe we will forget about your "lack of judgment" in this case.

Sidewalk rage

Do you ever get road rage when you’re walking? It happens to me all the time. Partly because I tend to be a fast walker, but mostly because some people are completely oblivious to what is around them. Today, for example, I was walking through the tunnel (Dallas has an underground tunnel system linking the lobbies of several office buildings together – lots of restaurants) after grabbing a sandwich to take back upstairs. This is during the noon hour when there are lots of people in the tunnel – usually not a problem as everyone is walking at a pace that lets you know they are headed somewhere particular and need to arrive at that place relatively soon.

But then, I came up to a group of 3 women, in the middle of the tunnel walking like they were on hour one of their 3-hour lunch break. They were in the middle of the “lane” and left me no room to pass along the right, and I couldn’t pass along the left, as that was the oncoming traffic. So I “tailgate” for a few seconds thinking they would get the picture – you know, speed up or compress into single file, or move over! No such luck. Finally, a break appeared in the oncoming traffic, so I downshifted for better acceleration and began to pass. Then, and just like on the highway, as soon as I barely cleared them I cut them off by moving back in my lane about a step in front of them! That will teach ‘em! Of course, just like on the highway, I ran the chance that one of them would have shot me the finger or pulled a gun out on me, but that didn’t happen. Plus, at this point, we were just outside of the Starbucks, and there is ALWAYS a police officer at Starbucks – waiting to catch the real criminals (those that use all of the half & half without having someone fill it back up).

My only regret is that I didn’t tap on the breaks just after reclaiming my rightful spot in front of the slowpokes.

Dispatches from Mosul

Michael Yon is required reading for me every time he issues a new “report”. Yon is the author of Danger Close and former Green Beret. I have not read his book yet, but I understand it is a first hand account of his hardships growing up and his time in the military. But, what I really like about Mike is his reporting out of Iraq. Mike is stationed with the 1-24th Infantry Regiment (Deuce Four) of the 25th Infantry Division near Mosul. He provides extremely detailed accounts of what is going on in that region. According to his website, “Michael Yon is an independent, informed observer chronicling the monumentally important events in the efforts to stabilize Iraq. His dispatches have the benefit of his life experiences without drawbacks based on deadlines or demands of marketplace. The cost of these dispatches is borne solely by Michael.”


I mention all of this to bring attention to his recent dispatches titled “Battle of Mosul”. It is a multi-part dispatch and is a long read, but well worth it. It is not a sugarcoated account of life in this area. There is very little politics involved – just the truth about what our soldiers go through and the progress that they are making to secure that region. The progress part is what you will not find in the MSM. In between feelings of hatred toward the enemy after reading about their efforts to use hospitals and schools for attacks, and sadness for the SEAL heroes who recently died, you come away with a deep patriotic feeling, knowing that are men and women in the military are second to none – at least I do. I hope you take the time to read some of Michael Yon’s work, I think you will like it.

Attention illegals - Free education available, please hurry!

I often get a “whatever” look from friends and family when I go off on a political rant for whatever reason. Usually my wife half pretends to give a flip about what I am ranting about, but I know she thinks I get worked up for nothing, same for my sister in law…until today.

A little background, my sister in law (we will call her Kim), is recently remarried and will be moving with her new husband to Lewisville, TX next month. She has an awesome 4-year old son who has stayed at home with mom the whole time (no daycare). Kim called Lewisville Schools to inquire about their pre-K program – thinking that now is a good time to get my nephew acclimated with other kids and get a jump on structured learning.

That’s the background - here is the outrage. The representative for the school district said that of course they have a pre-K program and that my nephew would be welcomed there as long as he fit into one of the following categories:

- Needs help with English (i.e. are his parents illegal immigrants)
- Homeless
- Parents in the active duty military
- Economically disadvantaged

Lets think about that for a second. The one redeeming quality to their completely absurd guidelines is that they are providing assistance to families who are fighting for our freedom on a daily basis – no further discussion needed on that point.

But here is a prime example of what is wrong with the education system in general and illegal immigration specifically. The nanny welfare state has been too busy spending the tax money of hard working citizens on people who are not paying a dime – in particular on people who are here illegally and are not paying a dime. I have compassion for the single mom or dad who works his tale off and still needs to get little Johnny or Susie in to pre-K. I have compassion for the mom who has seen their family’s income go down because dad was called up to fight and needs help. But I have zero compassion for Pedro who has come to this country (with his 8 kids) illegally and now demands that I have to educate his children while mine get to sit at home. I get to spend $150 week on private school in order to provide an early learning environment while Pedro sends his to school for free!

The solution: stop providing the incentives that keep the stream of illegal aliens coming - like free education, free health care, no threat of deportation, etc. Once this stream is significantly reduced – meaning those true “immigrants” who are here legally and are now paying their share of taxes – can we start allowing them access to our subsidized programs.

We can’t deport all 12 million illegal aliens – not possible. So part of me can see the need to educate the ones that are here now (helps break the cycle of poverty). But it makes no sense to keep the floodgates open and to keep telling those not wanting to go through the normal process of legal immigration to “come on over – get your free health care and free schooling”. While my sister in law and her new husband work and pay taxes, just to get the opportunity to send my nephew to private school to learn what Pedro Jr. gets to learn for free.

Disclaimer: The name Pedro was used to represent the 10-12 million illegal aliens currently estimated to be in this country (most of which are from Latin America). It is in no way meant to be exclusionary to those who may be named Jose, Felipe, Juanita or Jesus. Please see my early posts on illegal immigration before calling me racist.

Today's entry

I joined The Circus last night for the first time in a long while. I thought it was a pretty good show, and as always, Richard saved some political stuff for me to discuss. And true to form, I think equal airtime was given to both sides – thank you Richard for the invite.

Deborah Orin is reporting in the NY Post today that Valerie “I’m a secret operative” Plame gave $325 to the anti-Bush fund raising concert last year starring Bruce Springsteen. Orin states:

“It's the first revelation that Plame participated in anti-Bush political activity while working for the CIA.
The $372 donation to the anti-Bush group America Coming Together, first reported by Time magazine's Web site, was made in Plame's married name of Valerie E. Wilson and covered two tickets.
The Federal Election Commission record lists her occupation as "retired" even though she's still a CIA staffer. Under employer it says: "N.A."

I don’t really make too much of this, just thought it was interesting. Next time you see or read about an ex-CIA/Justice Official/etc. give their expert opinion on something, don’t automatically assume that their opinion is without bias just because they served in some particular role. Federal employees are just like everyone else, they form political opinions and vote just like you and me. We can only hope that their political leanings don’t get in the way of their job.

A downtown grocer - why didnt I think of that?!

A new grocery store opened up recently in downtown Dallas – and by downtown, I mean directly in the heart of the CBD…and by new, I mean the first of its kind. This is good for downtown, and will help comfort those residents who have already ventured back into the CBD and will likely lure in the next wave. But there is just one problem…they STOLE MY IDEA!!

Three years ago while going through grad school I worked on a project with two other classmates. The development project was for a downtown grocery/bar/café to be located in the middle of downtown (sound familiar). The area was just starting to see the first wave of new residents and the closest grocery store was located on Lemon and McKinney Ave. – not very close and not easy to get to.

My group did it all from costing the job, researching demographics and running IRR calculations. I recall getting an A on the project and thinking to myself - self, why don’t you actually do this deal. Then self responded, “because I’m poor”!

Oh well. Good luck to whoever it was who stole the brilliant idea. The similarities are way to close to have been purely a coincidence.

I'm back! Thank you..hold your applause

I’m back. Back from a much-needed vacation, only to be so backed up with work from missing over a week, that I now feel like I need another vacation. I gotta hand it to the French and their 30 hour work week. In fact, I think that may be the answer to a trivia question: Name one redeeming value to living in France? What is, the 30-hour workweek?

There has been a lot going on in the news lately so lets play news quick-hits, shall we.

Karl Rove did not take the initiative to seek out a reporter who would run with a story about Valerie Plame. He responded to an email from the Time reporter and cautioned him about going forward with the Wilson story on Niger/Yellowcake/Sadaam. Too bad Time didn’t head his warning. As the 9/11 Commission proved, Wilson lied about who sent him, lied about briefing the Vice President and lied about issuing any type of written report of his trip. For more on his lies check the GOP site.

The NHL has ended their version of the Cold War and agreed to terms. I remember reading that under no circumstances would the players union agreed to a salary cap. Guess what? There will be a 53% salary cap for the next 6 years. Unions in general played a very important role many, many years ago. The union has now outlived its usefulness in America.

It appears that George Bush and Tony Blair are to blame for the recent London terrorist attacks. Oh, you didn’t know that?! It says so right there in The Guardian. Need more confirmation, just check out any BBC report that comes out. Why is it that the BBC refuses to use the word terrorist? The first reports from the BBC on the London attacks described it as a terrorist act. However, the reports that ran later that day scrubbed the word terrorist and replaced it with the word “bombers”. Evidentially, they changed this because viewers/readers didn’t understand why the BBC refused to label the terrorist in Iraq as such (instead call them militants), but were quick to label the attackers in London as terrorist. So, what does the BBC do? They sugar coat all acts of violence perpetrated by people intent on killing innocent civilians (what you and I call TERRORIST) by calling them “militants” or “bombers” or “mean people”. Political correctness lives on in Great Britain. BBC responds by saying this: Link

Keeping an up to date blog takes lots of time. I have $0.02 to offer on most any and all current events, but sure don’t have the time to put them into words and post on a daily basis. I do have a new blog that I started reading recently: Black Five – The Paratrooper of Love. This is one of the better Military Blogs out there. I have added him to my Links on the left.

A loophole of the Government

It turns out that there is a "loophole of the Government" that allows people to incite violence and burn the American Flag. This whole time we have been told that it was a God given right, inalienable right, the right to assemble and the right to speak freely without fear of being jailed, tortured or killed by the Government. But according to a group of Islamist Jihadist in New York yesterday, its just a "loophole". For more information on these "peaceful" Islamists see World Net Daily story: http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44664

Somebody help me out here. I know that we have a right to assemble and demonstrate. We also have a right - despite patriotic feelings to the contrary - to burn the US flag. But, just like we do NOT have a right to scream "fire" in a crowded theatre when there is no fire, I don't believe we have a right to incite violence. We don't have a right to call for an uprising to take arms against the US. Should these jihadist come to Dallas and pull the same shit down here, I'm going to test the extent of the First Amendment. If someone is burning the flag (again, not against the law) while at the same time calling on 6 million American Muslims to take up arms against the US, I think I have a pretty good case for "inciting violence". The violence in this case will be the violent end of my fist against their "peaceful" face. Should they "incite" me enough, it may very well turn into a clash of the First and Second Amendment.

Ok. Let me calm down and recap. Every US citizen is allowed to protest the US policies here and abroad, accuse the US Government of make believe atrocities, burn the flag, etc. I detest those acts, but I cherish the right to do those things. But when you attempt to organize an armed conflict against the US - well, that dog don't hunt.

Its time that people who love this country stand up more against these people who hate it. Stand up in the same fashion as they. If they burn the flag, throw water on it. If they shout "Allah is great, death to America", we should sing "God Bless America". Match their rhetoric and tone. Refuse to be shouted down. Make this country so Free and Patriotic that they can no longer stand it - and they LEAVE!

For more on this see the Powerline link on the right.

The Border Problem

What to do about the border? I’m told that illegal immigrants come here to do the jobs that Americans will not do. But, if that is the case, why are there so few illegal immigrants mowing yards and doing construction jobs in the northeast? I mean, aren’t northeasterners Americans too. Or maybe those American northeasterners just have a stronger work ethic than those of us in the south. I don’ buy it. If you were to magically shut the border tomorrow and deport every single illegal at once, it would take no less than 2 days to fill most of the jobs left behind - with American citizens.

Ok, then, what about the inevitable wage increase that would go along with that magical proposition? Sure, wages would go up. But our county hospitals would no longer need to same amount of subsidies and our schools would no longer need the same amount of funding, etc. And what does that mean, you guessed it – our taxes would be less.

In reality, I do partly by the argument that says that there are certain jobs that Americans would rather not perform at low wages. So, there does need to be a mechanism to match willing workers with willing employers – I get that part. That makes sense to me. But what doesn’t make sense – and I have yet to hear a convincing argument – is why we should just let our border be as porous as can be in order to facilitate this matching of jobs with workers. All the while, creating the easiest of access points for terrorist to come in. It does not make sense. Shut down the borders (put up a damn fence, station the Guard, or hire a bazillion more border agents), actively pursue those employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants (yes, there is not only a supply side to this but a demand side), and then institute a guest worker program. A program that ensures that the worker’s pay is taxed so that when that worker needs to go to the hospital, he isn’t getting completely free care.

Here is where you can now point out how racist this all is – please, go ahead. Racism (American Heritage Dictionary): “The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” Where in all of this rambling do I assert that any race is superior to another? I don’t. I am simply begging the US Govt. to do what is in the best interest of this country’s economy and security – period. That can be achieved without reducing the ethnic make-up of this country. All I am saying is make the ethnic make-up of America be of the legal variety.
God Bless the “Undocumented Border Patrol Agents” (also known as The Minutemen) who are standing on our border, in a non-violent, non-confrontational manner, to bring awareness to this issue.

Embryonic Stem Cells

Lets talk stem cells and the Federal Government shall we? I read today that two Democratic congressmen challenged President Bush to go ahead and veto an expansion of FEDERALLY FUNDED embryonic stem cell research, which he is on record as saying he will do.

U.S Rep. McDermott and Rep. Inslee are publicly pressing for passage of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005. This bill will lift Bush’s 2001 ban on FEDERAL FUNDING for research of new embryonic stem cell lines – it is scheduled for a House vote this week. Rep. McDermott said of President Bush’s veto threat, “Bring it on” and face the fallout of public opinion.

I am emphasizes will all caps the words Federal and Funding for a reason. So many people think, thanks to the continuing misinformation we get from major media, that Bush’s 2001 legislation is an outright ban on embryonic research – it is NOT! What Bush is saying is this; the Federal Government is not going to open the money spigot for research that involves the destruction of human life. Human embryonic stem cell research is completely legal. It always has been – Bush did NOTHING to change that. That is fact/myth number one. I am amazed how many of our “educated elite” either chooses to misrepresent that or are completely ignorant to that fact. Fact #2 is this: Bush is the first President to even fund human embryonic stem cell research. He is just requiring that the research be limited to the 22 lines already created.

The proponents of changing this bill tell us that embryonic stem cells (the ones you have to artificially create and then kill) offer soooo much more hope of saving people suffering from paralyses, heart disease, acne, etc. Ok, maybe not acne, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Lets stop here and interject a little free market common sense.

When a free market economy is allowed to work, it works well. It has a knack for picking the winners and losers without any help from the government. If, as Mr McDermott and the others would have us believe, embryonic stem cells are the only sure fire answer to solving the worlds health problems, then our free market economy would be pouring money in by the truck loads - they same way it did to technology “start ups” in the 90’s. The capitalists are more than willing to have their money first in line when it comes time for a new product to pay off. If, embryonic stem cell research has such a promising future, WHY is it imperative for the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT to fund it?! These elitist frauds are playing on everyone’s natural fear of death to spread their lies. “Do you want to die of heart disease? Well, then you better hope the Federal Government starts funding this research or else you certainly will.” Come on – give me a break.

We have access, free of moral dilemma, to thousands of stem cells right now – adult stem cells. Adult stem cells have treated over 58 diseases in human patients in published clinical studies; embryonic stem cells have not treated one.

This shouldn’t even be an argument related to morality at all. Substitute stem cell research with oil exploration, computer technology, whatever, and I still don’t think that the Federal Government should be spending my tax dollars to support private R&D. In 1999, even President Clinton's National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC) acknowledged broad agreement in our society that early human embryos "deserve respect as a form of human life" (NBAC, Ethical Issues in Human Stem Cell Research, 1999, p. ii). NBAC recommended funding of embryonic stem cell research, only if there were no alternatives. But there IS an alternative - adult stem cells.

Everyone wants a cure for paralysis, Alzheimer’s, etc. But don’t scare people into thinking that the ONLY way a cure can be found is if we create and kill thousands of human embryos for research. Those who tell you that just don’t have the facts.

Not another Blogger?!

Welcome! I’m glad you found this space. Of course, the three of you who are probably reading this were forced into it (thanks mom, dad, shell). This is really going to sound selfish, but this blog is more for me than it is for you. I think there is something therapeutic about expressing your opinions for the entire world to read – even if only three people actually do read it.

I caught the public opinion bug a couple of years ago as a guest host (both “guest” and “host” are used liberally here) on a local sport radio station (“sports” used liberally here as well). Richard Hunter, of the P1 Wild Ass Circus fame (1310 AM KTCK) invited me, and several others, on to help co-host a new radio format. I will save those memories for later posts, but needless to say, the idea of talking to millions, ok thousands, or at least hundreds of people at once was thrilling. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me – smack dab in the middle of a Presidential campaign (definitely more about that topic later).

I plan on using this forum as an extension of that radio opportunity to express my worldviews. I don’t suppose any topic is off limits. I intend to waste some space on politics, religion, sports (especially local to Dallas), family, morality, corporate life, music and whatever else tickles my fancy. And as always, I intend to interject just a little bit of common sense into things. And by that, you can assure yourself that there will be very little political correctness on my part – the bane of all common sense.

I don’t know if Albert Einstein said it best when he said, “Common sense is the collection of prejudices collected by age eighteen.”

Or if Gertrude Stein was right in that, “Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.”

With all do respect to Mr. Relativity, I tend to disagree with Albert and agree with Gertrude. I think I have changed dramatically in my views since the age eighteen. Even though Mrs. Stein made her statement some 60 years ago, it probably is truer today than ever.

Well, that’s it in the way of introductions. I suppose I will come up with something contentious to say pretty soon - if for no other reason, than to hear myself talk.