Prop 2 ½ Override

Here we go again. The Mass Legislature wants to make it legal to raise property taxes on young folks only. The bill passed in the House and is now in the Senate as bill H 4534. So much for Deval helping us on property tax as he promised during his "feel good - elect me" election. . . .

What the bill says is this – you can raise taxes but those over 65 will not get the increase in their property tax. So only young working folks will have higher property taxes and it has to be enough to not only cover the increase in town spending that is their fair share, but they have to cover the over 65 folks in town too.

Why do this? Simple, the older folks will go vote down overrides. The scum, politicians think that if they can either keep them from voting or get them to say yes then the overrides will pass and they will be able to do what they want with property tax, good bye Prop 2 ½. This is a blatant attack on our attempt to curb their spending that has been in place for over 20 years now. They clamed the world would end if it passed back then and nothing happened. Now they claim it will end without the overrides.

Write your Senator and tell them to vote NO on this. Young folks can’t afford to live here now, this will just make it worse. I am starting to think we are trying to run all the young folks and families out of this state. We need to say no, and we need to learn how to live without a government hand out. These towns need to live in their means like us voters have to and start to cut programs that we really don’t need. All I want my town to do is fund schools, cops, firemen, and keep the roads fixed up. All the rest should be extras and only allowed if we can afford it. If the money is not there, cut the program or find another way to fund it. Budgets need to be trimmed and if that means sports goes or drama club or glee club that is too bad. We need to have priority here. And don’t even get me started on the money we dump into special ed programs for kids that don’t belong mainstreamed but we do it so the parents can feel good. Special ed does help some, but we spend way too much on some students that it is unfair on the rest who have to do with less for this feel good program. It is one thing to work with some kids that need extra help in Math and English or have some ADHD. . . Special ed programs need to be objectively evaluated to see what the cost/benefit to the community is. It would not be easy but then we will all see the real cost spend on these programs and how the cost for one or two kids with major problems can affect the rest of the students in the school. What ever happened to the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the one. . . .

House and Kids Update

Well, house first. . .

I have started to get the basement painted and move some shelves into the new "pool room". Once the shelves were in the models went in with only a bit of damage to a few of them that I could fix. The shelves look ugly since they are a mix match of stuff but it will due until I can build nice ones. It is nice to have my modes on display where they can be seen for a change instead of up in the loft where no one saw them. . . .

The basement needs a second coat of DryLoc but it looks good. I love and hate DryLoc. If you have never used it before then think about trying to paint with paste or plaster. This stuff is thick and a mess to roll on. Forget spraying or brushing. .. . and my arms hurt for a day or so after. . . . on the plus side it works great and does keep the water out. I hope to start moving in some tools this weekend after the second coat of paint is done. I will also be moving in the exercise stuff as the workshop will be doing double duty as Dojo too. . . .

I have to get home early tonight because my mom is doing a beer and pizza night for the guys that built her apartment. She is so psyched to be able to start moving in. We hope to have the old house on the market by the end of March. Here's hoping we can get a good price for it in this sucky market. It is in a great position since it is on an a acer and on a short dead end road with only one other house. It would be a great place if you have one or two kids and want lots of room for them. It also has an in law apartment with it. It is a nice place but with three kids it was not going to work for us, and it would have been weird doing stuff to the yard with her still living in the in law so we are going to sell it once she is moved in with us.

Now on the kid front Jack is fully mobile and starting to stand up by pulling himself up on the couch, table, or one of his sisters if they stand still long enough. And he is quite proud of this I may add. All this at only 9 mo. . . . this is not a good sign for mom and dad's long term sanity. . . His older sisters are still spoiling him rotten so he is doing OK on that front.

His sisters are doing well, Aisling has been getting on the honor roll for a few semesters straight now and Ciara is loving the Karate classes she started.

That about covers it. I am going to be busy for the foreseeable future getting the place in shape now that most of the work is done. They are still building out the front door in the original house and we still have to fix the window I broke. . . .

Jericho

OK, this is getting good now. I didn’t think it would happen but I think it is even better than the first season. I like the fact that the military commander in town is not a bad guy and is starting to see what is going on. I also like the idea that they are pushing that you need to question what the government tells you and not just drink the cool aid.

Ravenwood is evil. . . at least the guys we have met from them so far. I will say it now, I think the "new" Ravenwood guy (yes, he has been on before without the clean shave) that came to town needs to get sniped. I also think someone will take him out before all is said and done.

Jake is turning into a great character and I think that him and the major will end up working together to expose what happened with Hawkens staying in the shadows. I think Hawkins is a good guy but you never know what twists will come.

I am even more sorry that this is a short season. . . . it is getting too good for only 5 more shows this year. .. . . . I can’t wait for next season already.

LOST

That was cool. I love the idea of the time slips and the islands involvement. . . . So much happened last night but it answered no questions, just added to the mystery. I hope they start to answer a few question soon. I like where the show is going but I wish there was a bit more solid story or answers coming each show, it more seems like we are building up again and I think it is time to start giving out some answers. My fear now is that the answers won’t live up to the hype. . . .

Car Insurance in Massachusetts

I love it. Now they say that by deregulation of our auto insurance the price will go up. They did this promising us that it will reduce our rates but nope. . . not going to happen. We already pay more than most for insurance and now it will go up. Why am I not surprised? I could have told you this would happen, it happened before when they deregulated Cable TV and Airlines (ya, they got better didn’t they – service what is that. . .)

They did this to us before, the only difference is it was the Feds deregulation of Cable TV with the promises it would save us money and promote competition. Well, my rates went up, are still going up, and they have locked in one company for the town so there is no competition (unless I want to cut all my trees down for satellite TV). I want FIOS, Comcast sucks and is WAY overpriced.

Deregulation does not seem to work because no matter what they do, they never really open up the market for competition, they just pull off the stops for the cost, but we still have no choice. . .

Well, there goes more of my pay. . . .

Global Warming – the big lie

Well, can’t tell we are having global warming by this winter. . . . wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that folks like NASA are saying that we are colder now than we have been in like 100 years. . . . . guess that backs up the fact that the warming we were seeing over the last decade had more to do with the Sun’s cycle and the fact it was putting out more energy and nothing to do with us. Never mind the fact that one volcano puts more greenhouse gas into the air than we have in a decade but the tree huggers don’t want to hear that. You want to fix global warming then you need to figure out how to regulate the sun. . . . good luck with that.

Now add in the fact that we have started to pass laws based on this nonsense because it feels good (The great liberal reason for laws – we need to FEEELLLL good). In 2012 you will only be able to buy the compact florescent bulbs. Do you know they have Mercury in them and states such as Maine have put out special instructions on how to deal with them if they break due to hazardous material in them? So hazardous that the instructions include putting the bits in a glass jar since the mercury gas can get through plastic. And if you break it on your rug they say to cut out that part of your rug and throw it out. . . . Massachusetts is passing laws on what you have to do to dispose of the burned out (not broken) ones since the mercury is an environmental threat. Ya know what. . . . if they really are that bad then take them off the market and give me back the old style bulb. I’ll take the CO2 the plants can use over the mercury none of us can use.

All in the name of global warming. Folks, the earth and sun have gone through heating and cooling cycles since the start millions of years ago. In the 70’s when I was in school they were saying we were going into an ice age due to pollution, the 90’s started the warming due to pollution. . . . they don’t know but the environmental nutcases all scream bloody murder due to the current cause of the month and want laws changes and front page coverage for themselves.

Get over it – hot or cold it is not due to us, it is natural, it is the way it works.

Update from the EPA

The EPA says breakage of the energy-saving, mercury-containing CFLs can cause health hazards, especially for children and pregnant women, suggesting use of the bulbs over carpeted areas should be avoided. If bulbs break over carpeted areas, the cleanup may require cutting out pieces of the carpet to avoid toxic exposures.

Fight Quest Update

I finally got around to watching Fight Quest Korea. I loved it! I think they have finally gotten into the grove and started to show the good stuff in the training. It looks like they are starting to hit their stride, and getting up to the level of Human Weapon. They aren’t there yet, but they are at least moving that way.

I was happy to see that they have started to show some of the moves in a way that you can pick up and use yourself if you know what you are doing. They had a number of good throws and a few nice knife attack/defense moves that I was psyched to see. That along with the discussion of how they used it and the timing showed a nice shift in the focus of the show.

I must say I was also happy to see the change in attitude of the big guy. He seems to have learned a bit of humility over the show so far and does not seem to be as much of a show off/attitude problem as he was at the start. It is good to see that exposure to these great martial artists around the world has tempered his attitude and he is turning into quite a good martial artist.

This show is turning into a good martial arts show. . .

Roger Clemens

Sounds like congress wants to waste our money to investigate if Roger was lying to them about his steroid use. Sorry, but don’t they have more important things to do with two wars going on, an election, crime, Iran, the economy faltering. . . and they decide to blow OUR MONEY on investigation of Baseball – a PRIVATE business.

Hey, drugs are bad and I get all that but I also have enough brains to know prohibition don’t work, and when you pay the kind of money they do in pro sports there will always be folks willing to do anything to get better and get more pay. Why Congress needs to get into this is beyond me. This should be the kind of distraction that gets folks voted out of office.

I want a list of the idiots with all the free time up there that are chasing this around. Then I want to see them tossed out and replaced by folks that realize we have bigger issues than kids games to worry about and actually do something.

It is just too bad that in the real world the average voter will forget this by November and we will have same bunch of Hacks voted in again. Democrat, Republican. . . Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. . . .Time for term limits and new blood folks, these nuts are doing nothing but wasting OUR money on this investigation and in many other ways. This will cost money, our money they took from us through taxes. . . . . wake up folks you are paying for this BS in the long run in more ways than just the cash. Write your reps and tell them to get back to real work and let this go!

Armed Toll Collectors

OK, I don’t know why they need guns, Heck, I don’t know why they are still employed since the Mass Pike was paid off years ago so it should not be a toll rode. . . but anyway the Boss over at the Pike has suddenly decided that the 16 or so toll takers that have guns need to turn them in. I heard a quote this morning on the way in that he fears a wild west shoot out. . . Why is it gun grabbers always say this is going to happen every time civilians are armed, but it never happens. . . . Anyway this seems stupid to me. They have been carrying the guns for a while now (decades they say in the story), this is not new and there have been no problems. Why would they suddenly snap and start shooting now as opposed to yesterday or last week??

This is bull. All we have here is another hoplophobe spreading around his fear and insecurities so he can get some press. He fears something so we all need to give up our rights to make him feel good. Theses people need to deal with the world as it is, not as they believe it is in their delusional minds. . .

Now if he is taking them away so no none gets hurt as he fires them all and finally removes the tolls from the pike I may back him. . . even if he is acting on fear, not facts, and in the process trashing the Constitutional rights of these people. The union is going to fight him and for once I am with the union, I hope they win.

Here is the story in the Boston Herald

Debate - Hillary vs. Obama

Well, it sounds like Hillary lost big time last night based on the comments on the news. . . She needed to win BIG to get anywhere, the media says it was a tie, and talk radio says she got beat.

I love how she complained about getting the first question in the last few debates. She said she didn’t mind, but if she didn’t they why bring it up?? She is done folks. How can we possibly think someone like this would be a good President of the USA? She can’t deal with a debate, she can’t deal with the pressure, how the hell is she going to do the most important job in our government. Can you see her dealing with North Korea or Iran? Whine whine, “stop picking on us. . . . .” This stuff don’t work in the real world Hillary, you have shown you can’t do it. Obama beat you good, and you failed to win the voters you needed from Obama.

Next Tuesday should be a landslide for Obama. Now I hope McCain pounds him to bits once it is official he is the candidate. Obama has no plan, and lots of empty feel good ideas. McCain should be able to stomp all over him with his experience and abilities in DC and World politics.

In the mean time, Hillary will probably bail before Tuesday if she is smart and hope that folks forget how bad she did by 2012 and she can try again. . . I hope not – I would love nothing more than to see her booted out of politics for the good of the country once and for all. Hang in there Hillary, you can still pull this off by hook or by crook but you can do it. If you are going to crash and burn, please make it a show to remember. . .

Love this one. . .

Good news of the day

From another blog. . . looks like no matter what the liberal sh#T heads want to think, gun sales are going up. . . . good for us, bad for them:

From NSSF: BACKGROUND CHECKS UP 5.3 PERCENT IN JANUARY

Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows 942,556 checks were reported in January, a 5.3 percent increase from the 894,608 reported in January 2007.

The increase in background checks coincides with an up-tick in excise taxes reported by firearms and ammunition manufacturer

15 years ago today take 2

From the History Channel. . . . tell me this was not the start of the whole war
1993 : World Trade Center bombed

At 12:18 p.m., a terrorist bomb explodes in a parking garage of the
World Trade Center in New York City, leaving a crater 60 feet wide and
causing the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors in
the vicinity of the blast. Although the terrorist bomb failed to
critically damage the main structure of the skyscrapers, six people
were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. The World Trade Center
itself suffered more than $500 million in damage. After the attack,
authorities evacuated 50,000 people from the buildings, hundreds of
whom were suffering from smoke inhalation. The evacuation lasted the
whole afternoon.

City authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
undertook a massive manhunt for suspects, and within days several
radical Islamic fundamentalists were arrested. In March 1994, Mohammed
Salameh, Ahmad Ajaj, Nidal Ayyad, and Mahmoud Abouhalima were
convicted by a federal jury for their role in the bombing, and each
was sentenced to life in prison. Salameh, a Palestinian, was arrested
when he went to retrieve the $400 deposit he had left for the Ryder
rental van used in the attack. Ajaj and Ayyad, who both played a role
in the construction of the bomb, were arrested soon after. Abouhalima,
who helped buy and mix the explosives, fled to Saudi Arabia but was
caught in Egypt two weeks later.

The mastermind of the attack--Ramzi Ahmed Yousef--remained at large
until February 1995, when he was arrested in Pakistan. He had
previously been in the Philippines, and in a computer he left there
were found terrorist plans that included a plot to kill Pope John Paul
II and a plan to bomb 15 American airliners in 48 hours. On the flight
back to the United States, Yousef reportedly admitted to a Secret
Service agent that he had directed the Trade Center attack from the
beginning and even claimed to have set the fuse that exploded the
1,200-pound bomb. His only regret, the agent quoted Yousef saying, was
that the 110-story tower did not collapse into its twin as planned--a
catastrophe that would have caused thousands of deaths.

Eyad Ismoil, who drove the Ryder van into the parking garage below the
World Trade Center, was captured in Jordan that year and taken back to
New York. All the men implicated had ties to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman,
a radical Egyptian religious leader who operated out of Jersey City,
New Jersey, located just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. In
1995, Rahman and 10 followers were convicted of conspiring to blow up
the United Nations headquarters and other New York landmarks.
Prosecutors argued that the World Trade Center attack was part of that
conspiracy, though little clear evidence of this charge was presented.

In November 1997, Yousef and Ismoil were convicted in a courtroom only
a few blocks away from the twin towers and subsequently sentenced to
life in prison without the possibility of parole. Only one other man
believed to be directly involved in the attack, Iraqi Abdul Rahman
Yasin, remains at large.

After the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, U.S.
investigators began to suspect that Yousef had ties to Saudi exile
Osama bin Laden, the head of the anti-U.S. al Qaeda terrorist network.
Whether bin Laden was in fact involved in the 1993 twin tower attacks
has not been determined, but on September 11, 2001, two groups of al
Qaeda terrorists finished the job begun by Yousef, crashing two
hijacked airliners into the north and south tower of the World Trade
Center. The structural steel of the skyscrapers could not withstand
the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel, and both
collapsed within two hours of being struck. Close to 3,000 people died
in the World Trade Center and its vicinity, including a staggering 343
firefighters and 23 policemen who were struggling to complete the
evacuation and save the office workers trapped on higher floors. Only
six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their
collapse survived. Almost 10,000 other people were treated for
injuries, many severe.

15 years ago today

The war started with the first attack on the World Trade Center in NYC.

Monday Model

Probably one of the most recognizable aircraft of WWII the Stuka


This aircraft rewrote what close air support meant, and what a dive bomber was for. . . without these the German lightning war would have taken much longer and probably would not have been anywhere as successful. . .


This was a great model to build, and the camo pattern is rather different as you can see, lots of geometric shapes instead of the wavy lines you usually think of as a camo pattern.

Spiderwick Review

The wife and I took the girls to go see Spiderwick over the weekend and I think I can safely say two thumbs UP for this one.

The story revolves around a single mom and her three kids (two boys and an older girl) as they move into a new house. Things start to get a bit strange after one of the boys finds a book left there by their grate grandfather. They have to start dealing with some strange stuff going on that has to deal with the unseen world and the fairies tat live there. I don’t want to give it away but let me tell you it was worth the price of admission.

The story was good, the effects were great, and it sucked you right in. When it was over I was left wondering where the time went, it did not seem like I had been sitting there long enough for the movie to be over. The characters were good, a bit short on development but hey, it is the first movie from a set of books I believe. I do know I am going to have to look them up. If they are as good as the movie then they will be well worth the read for me and the kids. It was also nice to see the girl had a strong character and was not wasting everyone’s time needing to be saved. . . she was a good strong character that could take care of herself and her brothers. . .

Go see it, it is worth it

Vet + Cat = ???

You have got to read this

This is one of the funniest cat stories I have heard. . . .

Too Much Homework?

My two kids, 4^th grade and 7^th grade had no homework over school brake. I thought this a bit strange for the older one. I remember having homework over vacation.

As I listen to the radio today I hear that around the world kids get much more homework than we do and how we put too much stress on everything BUT school work and then we wonder why our kids can’t compete in a global market. There is a new movie out called 2,000,000 minutes that looks at the differences between our schools and other schools around the world.

Let me just say that I think things have gone too far to the left and we are way too easy on the kids these days and that is why we are loosing our leadership roll in the world. We spend way too much time worrying about all the extra-curricular stuff and not enough on what is important. Lets try to remember folks, we send kids to school to learn, not to play sports, or play music, or make nice drawings. All this is good but must be kept in moderation as the main goal of school is to product a person that can make it in the real world.

We need to refocus what kids study. We need to get back to the basics, Math, Science, English and History. All else is extra, it is nice to have but should not be the main focus of the school.

During the interview I heard with the 2M Minute guy the thing that hit me is in other countries, like China and India they post the honor students on the front page of the paper, they are looked up to. Here we put the sport kids there. . . How many of them will make a living at sports? Add to that the fact that lots of schools are dropping the honor roll – we don’t want the kids to stress out thinking about grades. . . .

God do we have it BACKWARDS. Sports are fun, they are a nice hobbies, they need to be put back where they belong since they will not make a living for our kids. We need to stop worrying about who is coaching our kids to play basketball or baseball and start worrying about who is teaching them to do math and science.

All I can say is lets start by getting rid of all the liberal BS, this new math that no one understands – I am an electrical engineer and I had problems figuring out my 4^th graders math homework. . . lets go back to the old way things were taught. Stop trying to fix things, you are making them worse not better. I would love to see us go back to say a 1960’s curriculum updated for the current level of engineering and science. The basics of Math and Science have not changed that much. . . . The kids focus needs to be on learning, not playing. They can play after the school work is done just like we did. I don’t think it is a coincidence that our economy and country has started the downward spiral over the same time that the liberal have been messing with our schools to make them more “friendly” and make sure the kids don’t get stressed over their grades. . . we have given up pushing our kids to succeed, we are teaching them to just get by, that mediocre is good enough, we are teaching them to fail.

Population Shifting

Heartland Institute put out an interesting article about how people are fleeing more repressive states. This map give a very interesting look at where folks are going. The thing that surprises me is MA is neutral. . . that should be changing soon.

What doesn’t surprise me is that folks are leaving the liberal nanny stats and moving to the free states. This is further proof that when you look at how people vote with their feet – which considering the cost of moving should be taken seriously – that folks don’t like liberal governments, they want freedom.

Maybe there is hope for us after all. Now if we can just get rid of the liberals in those few blue states and fix things up we would be in great shape. As Charlie Daniels said “what this world needs is a few more Red Necks”

NAFTA

It looks like Clinton and Obama are talking trade agreements. . . NAFTA is one of the big ones Obama is hitting Clinton with I hear.

I can sum up NAFTA really easy – screw the working American.

I say this from first hand knowledge. I use to go out to a customer in Warren Ohio that make wire for cars. They had numerous plants there and it looked like the whole town worked for them, hell, they were the town.

A few short years after NAFTA – translates to as soon as they could move all that stuff – most of it was gone. They picked up everything but engineering and moved it all to just over the border in Mexico. The Americans in management live in Texas and drive over the border each day to make wire in Mexico with the cheap labor. In the mean time Warren OH took the hit so Mexicans can work, they town lost thousands of blue collar jobs thanks to NAFTA.

You will never convince me that NAFTA was good for anyone but a few rich folks that owned the companies. What it cost the US was huge. Bill Clinton signed it and sealed the fate of lots and lots of American workers. . . but that is ok, he got his money out of the deal from someone I am sure. And they say the Republicans screw the working class?? I don’t see how, Bill is the one that signed it. . . He who claims to support the working man – Ya Right. . . .

When will we learn that off shoring work does not make us stronger. . . .

Gun Control

Shamelessly grabbed from Bits & Pieces

Gun control is a controversial subject….but these are pretty compelling thoughts.

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution
(c)1791. All Rights Reserved.

11. What part of 'shall not be infringed' do you not understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the
others.

13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.

15. Know guns, know peace, know safety.
No guns, no peace, no safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

New Toll Roads

It seems that we are under funding the Mass Turnpike/DPW and they are 19 BILLION short on what they need to take care of the roads in the state. The answer? Tolls of course. Never mind that this state is in trouble and needs to cut it’s budget of all the fat. Forget that we pay top dollar for cops to work construction sites on the road instead of paying for flag man like other states. Forget that Deval has a bunch of pet projects he wants to fund. And for God sake, FORGET that we don’t take down the tolls when they are done – The Mass Pike has been paid for for years now and we still pay to drive on it.

This is a bunch of bull. We are looking at a new way to get $$ out of us instead of cutting cost and putting what they have where it is needed. Once again they cry foul and scream that the crisis is where it will hurt us and then they take more money and quietly keep all their friends and family on the payroll in the background.

We need some new faces in this state’s government, someone who will make the needed cuts and hard calls to cut spending, and move the money they have to where it is needed, not where they have hacks working on our payroll. . . and while we are at it we need to get rid of all the friends and families on the pay roll.

Forget the tolls, lets get rid of the socialist programs we can’t afford like this healthcare fiasco we are already overpaying for and put the money where it is needed. This is the fun of living in a liberal welfare state. . . we work, they take the money. . .. . . it is time we got them out of our pockets and back to doing what they are supposed to and out of the rest of the crap they got their fingers into. Socialism don’t work, lets move on.

Obama picks up endorsement

Louis Farrakhan has endorsed Barack. . . If that don’t set off some alarm bells then I don’t know what would. Farrakhan is a liar, full of hate and spite that has spent his life working on splitting this country along race lines.

I wonder if anyone has told him that he is probably doing more damage than help by backing him. All I can say is having this hate monger backing you is just another reason we need to keep him out of the Oval Office folks. . . .

Ralph Nader is in agian

Nader is in the running again. Good to see he is doing his patriotic duty trying to keep the Democrats out of the White House again.

Thanks Ralph and good luck

Obama is Unfit for the Office of POTUS

From Cryptic:

Obama Positions on Gun Control:

• Ban semi-automatics, and impose more restrictions on other types of firearms possession;
• Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons;
• Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms;
• Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
• On the issue of prohibiting citizens from carrying concealed weapons, Obama said he believes national legislation should be passed to “prevent other states’ laws [allowing citizens to conceal their guns] from threatening the safety of Illinois residents.”
• “I believe we need to renew–not roll back — this common sense gun law,” [The Clinton “Assault Weapons” Ban]
• Proposes several gun-control laws, including restricting purchases of weapons and ammunition at gun shows, establishing a national database that would capture and record imprints left by bullets, and making gun locks mandatory
• Obama said concealed weapons should be allowed for retired police officers and some military personnel.
• “Ordinary citizens should not be allowed to own military assault weapons, such as AK-47s and Uzis.”

Big hat tip to Michael Bane for the details. Seems like Obama is a typical statist- okay for ex-cops to carry guns to defend themselves, but not civilians. Note to that he wants to keep law abiding citizens disarmed in the highest crime areas- the inner cities. Much more here.

This is a blatant disregard for our rights. Anyone who is this far gone from the Bill of Rights should be no where near the Presidents office, never mind being in it. . . . He does not was citizens, he wants serfs. . . . . Yes Lord Obama, we do as you say My Liege. . . .

LOST

Well, LOST was great last night. It looks like Lock is setting himself up as the new leader of the new “Others” . And where did Ben get all the money from? It seems we are back to getting more questions than answers in each show. This is good and bad because I was expecting a few more answers this season than it looks like we are going to get but the show is still keeping things interesting.

And what is going on with the helicopter and the time problem they noticed? It looks like radio works in real time, fast moving stuff like rockets are affected a bit, but the slow moving helicopter is really affected by it. And if it is then why didn’t they notice this on the way in to the island or is the island doing something . . . .

The revelation of the baby as not being Kates was a good twist. . . why would she have the baby and not Claire? What happened to Claire? And who is this mystery group looking for Ben and are they tied to Desmond somehow?? They must be some bad folks if everyone is faking the death of the other survivors to protect them. . . or at least Ben has convinced them they are. . . .

Does the Baby count as one of the six? I wonder if he would since he was not “on” the plane. . . . so far we have Kate, Jack, Hurly and Sayied. . . I think there are two more we don’t know yet and I want to know who.

It also looks like Sawyer may not have the pull he thinks he does since Kate left the island and she started off with Locks group. . .

Questions, Questions, Questions and so few answers. . . .

Day by Day

Gotta love Day by Day. . .


This guy has the guts to put out a great non-politically correct cartoon. . . Link on the sidebar. Why he is not in every paper next to Doonesbury is beyond me. . .

John McCain

McCain may have had a relationship with some woman in 2000 campaign. . . . this looks like a set up to me. They had this story since December. . . They have a bunch of anonymous sources (two people from eight years ago) that may have seen some things and then again they may not have but they think they may have possible seen. . . . the New York Times is really reaching with this one. They have so little facts on this one why did it get so much press? This story seems to be about helping the Democrats by spreading rumors around that don’t have any real facts to back them. Heck, the NYT even endorsed him while they were sitting on this. . . they trying to make it news by pumping him up before they run it?

I don’t like McCain but I really don’t like the look of the medal playing games with our elections. . . . they had endorsed him not to long ago then they now go and publish this story that is not much more than gossip.

I think the media is showing its true colors . . . that we can no longer trust what we read in the news because they gave up on the truth years ago - now they are more interested in pushing an agenda like Dan Rather was than actually getting the facts. If this was an attempt to damage McCain why did they do it now (again, they have had it since December)? They should have left this alone until he was chosen by the party and the Republicans were committed to him, that would have been the most damaging time to release this kind of news/BS. Was someone else going to publish it on them? Did they think they would save money for the Dems doing the damage now? If no one else had this story would they have held it forever or just until it got close to the November elections. . . . I think the talk shows are right, something does smell here.

Should this be show to be a deliberate attempt to mess with our election process I hope they are forced to pay for it. On the other side, if it is true I hope they hang McCain out to dry and the Republicans bring back Romney (who did not quit, he suspended his campaign) at the convention so we will have the chance at not only a conservative but a brilliant business man taking charge of this mess and fixing DC. As they say the truth is out there. . . . question is can we find it and will the voters actually care when they find it?

House News!

We got our PERMIT!! We are done, they have the final sign off on the permit and Mom can move in any time now. We are going to have to finish some small stuff off like the tile in the kitchen but it is pretty much all done. Now we need to get things move and the old family homestead on the market so mom can get out of there. . .

I will take some photos this weekend and post them on the web page.

On our side of things I need to get the walls and floor painted in the basement so that we can start moving in tools. Mom is hot to have the tool shop move to our house from hers so we can get it on the market. We are looking at the pool table being moved on the 13^th of next month so that will be done soon too. Now I have to get the upstairs done and some shelves moved around to get it ready for the kids to have their play room moved. I look forward to getting all the toys up and out of sight in the loft area.

We still have work to do on the main house, the windows are still in the works and the front door is still half done but it is progress.

Michelle Obama’s Latest

“Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.” – Michelle Obama

OK now I am scared. I know he will demand I work, how else will we support the welfare state that he will bring on us. I am sure his plans include taxes going through the roof and us working folks will have to step up and pay for it for him. . . . Thanks

The rest that scares me is how he will demand so much of me and my changing my life. . . I am sorry but other than wishing I made a few more bucks a week (which he will take anyway) I am happy with my life as it is and I don’t want to be forced to change it. Ya know what? I would rather the government stay out of my life as much as possible. As long as I am not hurting anyone else the government has not job telling me how I am to live my life – sorry. There is a great report on her speech here

Someone needs to have a talk with Michelle and teach her what the Constitutional duties of the President are. . . His job is not to run my life, it is to act as a check and balance with the other two branches of government (that would be the congress and the courts Michelle). The Federal Government is supposed to keep itself busy dealing with the big things like other countries and interstate issues. It was never intended for the Fed to be involved anywhere near as much as it is in our everyday lives. Read the Federalist Papers ( written by Hamilton, Madison and Jay, a few folks that know what was going on) some time to get a good understanding of the FEAR the people had of the federal government getting too strong. They feared things going exactly where they are today. . . More people should read this stuff so we can all understand what our government was and is supposed to be and then we can work on changing it to match what our founding fathers wanted

Jericho

OK, they are still going well, I think I am going to like the new twists to the show this season. I must admit I find it a bit hard to swallow the idea that most folks would just roll over and let them rewrite history so I am glad they are pushing back on that one. I also find it hard to go with the massive right wing conspiracy to set off the bombs though. . . I don’t think anyone is that nuts. I still think if that was to happen it would be terrorists doing it. . . I am not too thrilled with them putting that on the right wing folks and calling for changes to the Constitution. The right wingers are the ones that usually want less government and for us to follow the Constitution to the letter, not the left. I am also not sure how to take the rewrite of history they talk about in the new books, that sounds like Hollywood propaganda against the Conservatives again but we will see how it plays out. The fact that they are still going with good characters that support real American Ideals and that the conservatives in Jericho are the good guys gives me hope that the show will not get bogged down in leftist BS propaganda and will stay true to the characters and telling a good story.

The way the country has separated is also interesting. I could buy the liberal “blue states” on the coasts wanting to start over and dump the Constitution and all, but I don’t see it working well in most places. I would expect probably parts of New England and California to secede from the union but I am not sure most other states would, even the South. . . .

I think one of the most interesting developments was the announcement that we let the UN send in troops and put them on the border between east and west. That may be a liberal dream, but I think we have too many rednecks here that would take that as an act of aggression by the UN. Them blue helmets would make nifty targets. . . . As Charlie Daniels said “we may have done a little bit of fighting amongst ourselves but you outside folks had best leave us alone. . .”

It was good to see them start to move to fix things. The show was going to need a new direction to keep going anyway. How long can you watch the two towns fight. . . . I think the move to have Hawks try to get the info to Texas and expose the conspiracy was great. This is a great story line and I can’t wait to see where they go with it.

In the end I think you would see it is the military, the special forces and the “rednecks” that would fight with all they have to bring the US back together again under the original constitution. The ease with which they have supposed military folks working for the new government shocks me a little. I am also not to sure folks would sit around and let a self appointed leader run things. We put a lot of stock in our elections and I don’t thing anyone could run things here long without a vote the people thought was valid. . . it is too ingrained in us both military and civilian to let that happen.

Gotta say though, once again they have me watching every second, and loving it. I like the idea that it makes you think about things and keeps you on the edge of your seat most of the time. It was also good to see Shoshannah back as Bonnie and how she has warmed up to Mimi. . . I thought it was funny when she was talking to the new relief woman about here and she said she scared too her but she likes her. Overall a good episode and a nice step forward in the story.

Public Indoctranation

This shit scares me. . . . a bunch of teachers at a day care decide that they don't like capitalism and decide to teach the kids to be commies. . . Here is the story.

All I can say is you better not try this crap with my kids or I will do any and every legal thing I can to make sure you are looking for a new job. . . . Setting kids up to fail in the real world is all you are doing. . . you want to play God with social experiments, do it with someone elses kid. They should be busted for practicing Psychology without a license or something. I guess we do need to start testing teachers, I just thought it would be to make sure they know the subject, not that they are communists.

Man, all I can say is slap a hippy. . . . they need it.

Clinton and Obama and McCain Oh My. . . .

Things keep rolling on for Obama. Looks like he will take all three states that were up for grabs yesterday. I have to admit I have mixed feeling about this. I fear what a socialist like Hillary would do to this country more than just about anything else in this election but Obama does not look to be any better. Whereas Hillary and her welfare state is sure to doom our economy with higher taxes and more jobs getting shipped overseas along with destruction of our already sick health care system by overloading it at least she has a plan. Obama is doing more than just quoting Deval Patrick, he is running the same campaign just on a larger scale. Obama is all talks about all the great new social planning he has in line, and does not talk at all about how he is going to do this or more importantly how he is going to pay for it. You would think folks would worry about this but they are so desperate for good news that they totally ignore these glaring problems with his plans. It worked for Patrick and I fear it will work for Obama too. He will be in the White House before folks realize they sold their soul (and all their income) to the government for all those neat plans he had.

On the flip side McCain is still going strong and winning but Huckabee is still getting votes. I think this is the same delusional thinking that is helping Obama, just on the Republican side. They want a conservative so bad they will grab for anything even if it is an illusion. The big difference is Huckabee can’t win the election and I can’t even see him getting nominated. I have said before I don’t like McCain, he is a Democrat but he is better than Huckabee who plain scares me with all his God talk and wanting to update our Constitution to fit Gods words. . . that alone makes him unfit to be anywhere near the Oval Office.

When all is said and done I think Obama will get the nomination at least by the popular vote – what games the super delegates will play remains to be seen. If they put Hillary in then I think that is good for the Republicans as the Dems will probably split over the infighting the Clintons will bring and the hatred folks have of Hillary will also work to put McCain in the White House. If Obama gets the nod I am not sure McCain can win. Folks are too blinded by all the fancy talk to see that there is no substance behind it. I don’t think it is a done deal but McCain will have a harder fight against Obama no question. I will go vote for the least liberal of the bunch, McCain, and pray that we can hold our economy and country together for another four years of bad ideas. . . . Maybe we can get someone with a brain to run next time. . . ..

My Dream Political Party

With all the BS on the news today coming from our two favorite parties, Dem and Rep I got thinking on the way into work today – what would a good party look like. . . .

Well here is my list of what I would like to see in the mythical Reality party –

Pro Constitution – That means all of it. . . protect free speech, gun rights, equal rights under law – the whole thing.

Pro America – I am sick of hearing how bad we are and how we cause all the grief in the world. I want a party that wants a strong USA, protects our borders while encouraging LEGAL immigration for people who want to become American and can help us move forward

Supports our Culture – This country should run on ENGLISH. You can come here but you need to adapt to us, not us to you. Sure, keep your culture at home and teach your kids where they came from but know that you are now American, so act like one. In government and business you will use ENGLISH like everyone else.

Pro Choice – on lots of stuff. The government has no right to tell you what you can and can not do with your body if you are an adult. You should have access to abortion if you want, it is your choice, the government is not the be all end all choice on morals. Just because I don’t believe in it does not give me the right to enforce it on you.

Gets out of our lives – get out of the sports business, and the drug business for that fact. You want to kill yourself on steroids or drugs that is your problem. As long as you don’t do anything that can harm others like drive while stoned then I don’t see how I have the right to stop you. On the flip side, don’t expect me to pay for your medical bills or health care if you are self destructive either. It all boils down to personal responsibility – you want to play they you get to pay the bills too.

Stop being the world’s policeman – The founding fathers never intended to have us get involved in other countries. What they do is their problem not ours. If they don’t have the guts to change the government then why should we? The only interaction our founders wanted with the outside world was free trade. As long as countries don’t interfere with our trade or pose a clean and imminent danger to us then we have no right to harm them.

Small Government means less taxes – we need to cut through all the BS. We have so many redundant bureaucrats that I am sure we have a Department of Redundancy Department somewhere in DC. I mean look at it – we have an FBI and Homeland Security? Don’t they do the same thing? The FBI was good enough to do it all back in WWII why do we need another department now? Small government is good folks, it gets them out of your life (and your wallet) and leaves them to do the job that it was met to do on the Fed level and nothing more.

Get out of our Schools – stop trying to teach our kids to be robots and get out of their heads. Let us go back to teaching the important stuff like how to think for themselves. . . Let us teach them history and math and science so they can go forward and be successful. I realize this is bad for the liberals and they would die out if free thought caught on but that would be a good thing. . . .

Castro Steps Down

One of the longest serving leaders of a country has finally stepped down. What will this mean for Cuba? I don’t expect that a thing will change in Cuba but will it change how we deal with them?

I hope that we will finally give up on the sanctions against Cuba that have done nothing to change things. They will keep running things as they always have and whoever Castro has hand picked will now step up and win the next election. Castro has not “run” Cuba in a long time, his brother has been running things. This is all for show. Has anything changed since his brother took over? No but now we expect change. . . Why?

If you want to see change in Cuba we need to do the same thing we did to East Germany. Allow the US people to go there and show them who and what we are. They will learn through these visits what is available to them and eventually the change will come just as it did with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Sanctions have been in place for over 30 years, they still have not worked and never will. Change in Cuba is only going to happen slowly and only if we get involved. Ignoring it and hoping it will fail does nothing but let them keep the status quo.

Michelle Obama

And I quote “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my county”

This is what she said in a speech to back her husbands campaign. Is this the mentality we want in the White House? She is in her 40’s as far as I know and you are telling me that NOTHING has happened in these 40 or so years that you are proud of? When you listen to her talk she sounds like just another communist pushing the socialist agenda.

I am sorry but this is a really scary thought to me as I can think of a number of things that have happened over my life that I am very proud of:

Our Troops

Fall of the USSR

Liberation of Kuwait

Our reaction to 9-11

Our space program

Our technology

Our free elections every 4 years without violence. . . .

And many others too much to list

Michelle, if you are not proud to be an American than take advantage of the rights you have under our Constitution which your party seems to hate so much. . . the freedom to live wherever you want, including the ability to leave our country for one you can be proud of. . . .

While she is out doing this we also have Obama quoting MA Governor Patrick and not admitting to it. Probably an honest mistake but on the down side he is promising what Patrick did. . . . Lots of talk and no plan. He has been governor for a year or so now and has delivered none of his promises, and has done nothing to fix the problems he talked about. He has lived in a fantasy world that needs us to pay higher taxes and allow casinos in to get close to a balanced budget to support his welfare state. He will go down as one of our least effective governors yet. . . . and that is what we are going to see if he wins the White House.

House Update

Well we are at that point in the project that we are doing final clean up!!!! YA!!!!

Nana’s place is about done. All that is left for that part of the project is a bit of paint and the final permit saying she can move in!!! They do have a few small touches outside on the deck and back door to finish but not much. Landscaping will wait till spring when we can plant grass.

Nana is excited about it to say the least and has started calling movers to get some quotes on moving her stuff over. She has already go the pool table set to be moved next month on the 13^th!

With all the rain we have been getting the cellar is staying dry. The sump pump is running a lot and it looks like we have a new water feature in the back yard. It is making a nice little pond where it dumps out. Now all I need to add are the fish and the fountain = )

I spent part of this weekend over in my Dads work shop. I have not touch much in there since he passed and now I need to go through it and see what I want to move over to my new shop and what I don’t. He has so many tools in twos, threes and more that I am sure I can pare it down a bit and still have quite the shop when I am done.

We still have the front of the house to do and the back windows to fix. They are about half done on the front door and still getting stuff together to do the back windows . . . (the one I broke)

I will have to get some pictures of it posted on the web page, give me a few days so I can get them done. Trust me the place looks great! Once it is done I am taking a week off to move the stuff, and then we go to step two – un-packrating (new word) my house. We have kept too much stuff saying we would use it some day and I am done, some day is here and if it ain’t getting used then it is gone. That will probably be another week’s vacation gone but I will be psyched when it is done. Then I may have the space to actually put up the new shelving and stuff for the computer area to clean that up. It would do wonders in making the Dining/Living room look good to get rid of the big clunky computer cabinet we have now. . . . So much to do and so little time off. . . this will be the year of the House I think, with my spare time spent cleaning up the house and yard and getting it put back together after years of building on and around it. We are done building, time to get things set right.

New England is loosing it’s young folk

News today says that New England is loosing it’s young folk to other parts of the country. If you are between 25 and 35 you are more likely to leave NE for greener grass. And by that I mean a better job, more available jobs, and cheaper housing – otherwise known as a better standard of living.

So if the Democrat ideal of a Social/welfare state is so good for everyone then why are folks leaving the nice blue New England area. . . . maybe because it don’t work. We have plenty of welfare here, but if you want self respect, a job that pays a living wage, and to have the American Dream of owning a nice house forget it. Some of us do make it but that is due more to luck and who our parent are than the ability to get ahead here in good old Massachusetts from my experience.

I have known a few engineers that went to school here, got their first job here, then moved out. When asked why they all had the same answer. . . It costs too much here. I can’t afford to put anything away toward a house. Once they are married they start to look at thing a bit different and our welfare state don’t cut it any more.

Our loss is the gain of the South. . . . and the way our politicians keep on their blinders to all the failed social experiments it won’t be changing any time soon. I may be out of the age range since I am 40 but I fully expect that once my family commitments are done here ( My folks and my wife’s live near by and we want to be around them) I will be picking up my family and running for a new life south of the Mason Dixon line myself. How can I not? I want to be able to live without the state being my Nanny and to be able to retire some day. . . Things that will never happen if I stay here.

Think about it next November and vote a liberal out of office (note I did not say a Democrat or Republican) The job and lifestyle you save may be your own.

Export Laws worry about everything but exporting our jobs

I went to an interesting training class last week. All about how to export stuff correctly. Seems we have put all sorts of nice laws and rules out there to make sure we don’t send the wrong stuff to the wrong place and end up giving away our edge in technology or giving some nut case a way to make WMD. . . .

As I was thinking about this after the class I had to laugh at it a little bit. We are spending all this time and money on controlling who sends stuff where, and what we allow foreigners to do and see when visiting a company here. Then it hit me. . . if we spent half as much energy keeping JOBS here in the good old USA then we really would not have near as much to worry about. Seems a bit like closing the front door but leaving the back of the barn wide open. . . then wondering where all the horses went. . . ..

I hope we get it some day soon, before it is too late that as we let all these jobs go overseas they won’t need to come here to get out tech, know how, and products, they will just build them there and put us out of business

I hope the next administration can see the damage done by Clinton with NAFTA and such BS and start to correct it. We need to get out of this stuff and start treating our jobs like part of our national interests for a change because well THEY ARE!

Folks can’t earn a decent living in the north east, and I doubt it is much better in other parts of the country. We have outsourced too much an allowed our greatest strength to be sent overseas. Pay is down, you need a college degree to do a basic job today that never would have required a degree 20 years ago, and today what you know means little compared to the degrees you can claim. This is how you get the wrong folks in charge. Companies live for the bottom line which is as it should be, but what ever happened to pride in the USA? Years ago a company was proud to say it built stuff here. . . Now they ship it out to the cheapest bidder and ignore the cost of shipping, loss of quality, and loss of control over their own product all in the name of looking good for Wall Street. Gotta keep those stock number up even if it means killing the company in the long run.

I think that if the American Consumer would demand the quality of goods they use to you would see a lot of this stuff come back to the US where we can build it right. We are so caught up in the idea that it is cheap so we can just toss it when it fails and get a new one. We are destroying our economy and our environment with this mentality and it will come back to haunt us. If we are going to turn this around it will take all of us to do it, and it will hurt a bit to do it. We need to grow up, suck it up, and deal with it now while we still can.

Monday Model

Today I thought I would post one of the lesser known aircraft of WWII the Nakajima A6M2-N This little known fighter is based off of the well known Zero that is so well known for its abilities.


They were not as good as the Zero due to the extra weight and drag of the floats but they worked great for forward or small bases that they were supporting. They also did ok as night fighters since they could work out of the small islands they could show up where folks weren't expecting them.


All in all this was a nice kit to build. I think one of the best parts of my quest for 1/48 scale WWII aircraft is the stuff you learn along the way. . . . I had never heard of the plain we called the "Rufe" until I found this model of it. Kind of impressive what they came up with for aircraft in Japan to deal with the way the war went in the Pacific. This is a nice answer to needing air support on small island without having to build air strips or keep a carrier near.

Brady Campaign take advatage of Tragedy

I hear the Brady Bunch are out pushing for more gun control and to close that mythical "Gun show" loophole all based on this last school shooting.

Just so the facts are out there (and Brady and friends won't give them to you) check this out from CNN -

On Feb. 9, Kazmierczak walked into a Champaign gun store and picked up two guns — a Remington shotgun and a Glock 9mm handgun. He bought the two other handguns at the same shop — a Hi-Point .380 on Dec. 30 and a Sig Sauer on Aug. 6.

All four guns were bought legally from a federally licensed firearms dealer, said Thomas Ahern, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. At least one criminal background check was performed — Kazmierczak had no criminal record.

Kazmierczak had a State Police-issued FOID, or firearms owners identification card, which is required in Illinois to own a gun, authorities said. Such cards are rarely issued to those with recent mental health problems.

OK, This guy followed all of the rules that Brady wants out there, it didn't stop him. He also was no were near a gun show at any time. . . so why are they sending out emails claiming to be sorry about this shooting then asking for money to close down the gun show loophole?

Because they are scum trying to use this tragedy to push there own attack on our rights - a.k.a media whores. The only thing that could have been done here is for someone to shoot back. This guy was done and dead by his own hand before the cops got there (and they had a supposed 2 min response time - can't get much better than that). You want a safe society, you need to give up on this failed socialist experiment of gun free zones and all the BS gun laws they push. . . .

Insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. . . . guess what. . . Gun free zones anywhere - schools, malls, churches. . . . same outcome

LOST still has it

Watched LOST last night and I have to say I am getting sucked into it again. After last year which was on and off as far as my interest went this one seems like they are back on track and going places.

Syied's flash forwards are really getting my interest more than anything else I guess. I have come to love his character. He gets the job done no matter what. Like Lock he has the guts and convictions to do what he needs to even when it is a dirty job. I can't wait till next week to see what happens on the boat with him.

Speaking of the boat what was the deal with the rocket? There was a time difference of like 30 min? so there is more than just the magnetic station that blew up to worry about I guess. Now magnetics can get interesting but they blew it up with the fail safe so what the heck is going on now with the time shift? Maybe it is the geek in me but this looks like a neat twist on things and why the island is hidden.

But not well hidden. . . Ben has been getting on and off the island for a while it looks like with all the different money and passports in his desk. And he claims to have a spy on the boat too. Of course in the flash forwards he seems to be part of something big with the folks they are trying to knock off to "protect" the Oceanic Six. It is getting all James Bond and Black Ops it seams which is all right by me.

And leave off with Lock and the disappearing shack with Jacob in it. . . that should be an neat answer if we ever get one. . . Who or what is Jacob and how is he/the island tied into all this.

This is just getting better and better. . . I am bummed that we only get

Repeal all Gun Free Zones

OK, more of the story is coming out and it looks like the shooter followed all the gun laws in IL and was not known to police. He was off his meds and a bit upset in one report. So he wants to go out in a blaze of “glory” and plans for a week his shooting. Where to go where to go. . . Hey, them gun free zones are the place, then I know no one can shoot back. . . and so we have it – another school shooting.

But it is a gun free zone you say? How could he possibly shoot up the school and kill people when he can’t have a gun there – the sign says so. . . .

Folks we all best pray that the Supreme Court does the right thing and rules the Second Amendment is an INDIVIDUAL right like the other nine rights in the Bill of Rights. There is a line going around the net “when you have seconds the police are just minutes away”. That says it all.

They admit they (cops and school) could do nothing to stop this guy. They had no clues about him. You know what could have minimized the damage here, the number killed and wounded? Yep, one good guy with a gun.

As others have said, point to a time when Prohibition worked. . . . I dare you. . . Drinking? Nope, look at how well that went. Drugs? Ya right, we have no drug problem in this country cause they are illegal right? And again as others have said guns last longer than booze and drugs, they are here to stay folks and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Pandora’s box was opened long ago on that one and no closing it now.

Laws, signs, zones and pained lines on the floor mean nothing to a criminal. By definition he/she is breaking the law. You think they care about gun free zones? Well, actually they do because that is the safest place for them to do whatever it is they want.

Now if they want to shoot the place up how do you stop them without your own gun? And if they intend on dying anyway you are in even more trouble since they really have nothing to loose any more. At least if they want to live you have a chance, something to use against them. When they are expecting to die anyway you have a real problem stopping them. . . I don’t see how you can short of shooting or otherwise incapacitating them quickly and the gun is the best tool for the job.

If you pass the background check and get a carry license that should be it. There should not be any limits where you can carry and it should work in every state just like a drivers license.

Gun laws are new to this land. They started in the 1930’s to deal with the mob (that worked out well right?) then in the 1960’s the liberals pushed more on us and it hasn’t stopped since. Back in the 1920’s you could go buy a Thompson sub machine gun over the counter, no background check, no records. You know what? You also didn’t have all the shooting you do now, no mass murders, no school shootings, no office mass shootings none of it. Folks then were held responsible for their actions and they knew that other folks could and would fight back. Now you add in all these laws to make us safe and we are in worse shape, not better.

An armed society is a safe and polite society. A disarmed one is a danger to all of us.

Northern Illinois University shooting

Here we go again, armed bad guy, victims in gun free zone, folks running instead of defending themselves and dead people. . . . when will we learn this gun free zone stuff don't work. . . . More later

Update, quote from CNN

Grady said it was unlikely authorities could have prevented Thursday's tragedy.

"As much as we do, it's unlikely that anyone would ever have the ability to stop an incident like this from beginning," he said.

Yes, there is a way, if not to stop it then to minimize it. . . . Let licensed students carry. . .. . .But you won't admit that gun free zones help the bad guy. . . . . They don't work folks, time to wake up.

Go read this post, it says it all

Mitt Backs McCain

Once again proving that he is a real honorable person Mitt has let go of his own feelings on the subject and put the party first with his throwing his support behind McCain. We all know that McCain is no conservative but I feel he is a better choice for President of the US than either of the Socialist Democrats running (I admit it is a very slim margin, but better).

Where folks like John Edwards show their true colors by not endorsing anyone until he sees what he can get out of it, Mitt has done the right think to help the part and backed McCain. I doubt you will see him get anything out of this other than a way to prove he is a party guy (which he has already done). We don’t have much to work with here but we need to do everything we can to keep the White house in Republican if not conservative hands (I would rather it was in a Constitutionalists hands but who cares what I want) and to win back a majority of Congress that has continued to stagnate despite all the great promises of the liberal Democrats.

We need fresh blood in DC at all levels. We all have to vote this fall and put new people in office. Even if you won’t vote for McCain, go vote for your congressmen as it is critical we replace the bums we have in there now with some new folks with new ideas. What we got ain’t working, we need to change that. I know my vote won’t count, I am in MA where we always send Teddy and Kerry back no matter what. But I will go and vote anyway as my little bit of defiance. I eagerly away the day that I can go to an election and not see either of their names on the ballet. But even that day would not make me as happy as seeing them loose an election. That would be a real sign that we are waking up around here.

And remember, if you don’t vote then you have no right to complain about what you get. You have no excuse for not going to vote, you can always write in someone.

Subaru Repairs $$$$$

In interest of fairness I got a comment from Deb on my post about the issues I am having with my Subaru which you can read below. It looks like Deb may work at the place I am having issues with. Now from her blog she has a lot of fans and I must say that the people behind the desk that I have dealt with there are sales folks, I work while the shop is open so tend to drop my car and get it after the shop is closed. The sales folks have always been nice to me and quick to get my bill and keys so I can pay and get on with my night. It is a shame that the service folks don't seem to have the same customer focus. . . .

Now it may be my car, it has 120K on it but as I said I have had GMs with more on them and less problems from them so I give that I may have a bad car here but such is life. I just wish I could bring it in for a repair and not have them come up with a list of extras that need fixing, and when I get it back the one thing I asked them to fix (other than the oil change) was not fixed. . . . they said it was but it don't work. . . . and folks, I really can't get past the $95 for plugging the car into the computer. . . if I even dreamed it would cost that much I would not have bothered. And another $80 to replace a front blinker light. . . I was told it was hard to get to. As an engineer that sounds like a poor design to me. You know that is a part you will need to replace during the life of the car, maybe a few times. It should not be that hard to get to that you can justify $80 buck when the bulb is less than $5 at the local Wall Mart. . . .

Now I am going to do my own break pads since I can't justify the $350 for a job I can do for between $40 and $80 in parts depending on who's pads I buy and a few hours of my own time on the weekend. The rotors I can see if they need turning by looking at them, I don't need to turn them to see if they are good. . . This will be another chance to see how well the car is designed. . . a well designed car should not be that hard to replace break pads on - another item you know wears out so should be easy to replace. . . If I remember I will post the results after I fix them. . . . .

Democratic Party + Super Delegates = Implosion?

As things move forward it is looking more and more like an Obama win in the popular vote for the Democratic nomination. What happens if he does not get enough votes to secure the nomination? It is looking more and more like Hillary was wise to spend money on back room deals with Super Delegates to secure her win.

Should things go to the convention tied or very close but with no clear winner I think you will see Hillary’s back room work on these Super Delegates come into play to tip things over to her side. You Dems seem all proud that you think you have a say in this. . . your popular vote will mean nothing and the back room deals will seal who you get as a candidate. . . and don’t expect Obama to win that one, the Clintons have been putting out too much in money and favors for years to let this get away. Super Delegates – further proof that even in their own party the guys in charge feel that they need insurance that the leaderships pick will win because you are too dumb to vote for the right person. But, just in case you are afflicted with free thought don’t worry, those Super Delegates will pick for you and fix it all up. You silly little voter, you thought they would listen to you? Now now, don’t get too upset, we know what we are doing, you just go back and play with your toys while we fix this election for you. . . ..

This could be a great deal for the Republicans. . . You thing they have fall out over McCain you ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait till all the hippies, liberals and free thinkers find out that they really don’t have a say in this and that the good ol’ boys network of the party has already decided for them who will run. This could be a fantastic implosion of the party. Think of all the voters that will be pissed off to find out that they and their vote didn’t count for squat. . . . Hopefully they will stay home instead of just bending over and taking it from the party. If they do (and I would, just to show them what I thought) then things get much easier for McCain. Hell, they may just because McCain is a Dem anyway so they have little to lose by making a statement if there candidate choice gets hijacked. The Republicans may not like McCain but at least he is winning by the rules and they get to vote on it. . . The Democrats obviously don’t trust their own people to pick, they need their Super Delegates to make sure the “right” one wins. . . . or in this case – Hillary

We may not come out of this election with just the Republican party doing damage control, the Democrats look to be about to self destruct too. . . . going to be a hell of a ride folks.