Eco-idiocy.

Julia Roberts owns a Prius? Yea, and I own ski boots, so what, I ski about every five years. Does that make me a leader or a spokesman for alpine skiing?

Julia Roberts was reported by the TMZ film buffs' website last week to be the owner of a Toyota Prius, the first commercially produced car with a hybrid electric-petrol engine.

But TMZ also noted that Roberts travelled by private jet from Chicago to Los Angeles, consuming 9545 litres of aviation fuel.

Other Prius drivers with a fondness for private jets include Jennifer Lopez and Brad Pitt. The latter's recent private jet charter to Namibia with his lover, Angelina Jolie, burnt an estimated 50,000 litres of air fuel -- "enough to take a Prius to the moon", said TMZ.

I imagine it must be the second hardest job, behind being the presidential spokesman, to be a publicists for one of Hollywood's elite. You live among the eco nutjobs and liberal elite most of the time and they want to know what your celeb is doing to save the environment from this, that or the other. "My celeb drives a Prius." Congratulations, you have just told the world that you client's commitment to the environment is purchasing a $24,000 dollar car.

"But they do care about the environment, they attend all these fund raisers and do commercials for environmental causes." That's nice. If you want to impress me and assuage your guilt, give all your money to Greepeace or some climate think tank. I mean every penny you have and every dollar in your accounts receivable ledger. Sell your mansion in Malibu and the one in Aspen and the one on the French Riviera, and the townhouse in Manhattan, all your holdings, sell it all. Fire the heard of people and assistants that work for you, keeping you from having to deal with that pesky real world.

Do that and then you can lecture me on how we are destroying the environment.

Dad, there's a cowboy at the door.

Don't be alarmed if you get a knock on your door tomorrow in Woodland and you see my smiling mug. I am precinct walking tomorrow morning as part of the Yolo County GOTV machine.

I will be without my cowboy hat, although I might be wearing my GOP cap.

See ya.

Muslin Women - Equal halves or a weapon used by Satan?

Why is it that none of the Muslim clerics who hate the US and the west speak at Rotary Club breakfasts? Why it is always someone from CAIR?

Lets see, what am I supposed to believe?

"Another misconception, Dina said, is the idea that Muslims place women on a social status beneath men." and "Women are actually seen as equal halves of men, as complementary to men."

This came from Dina El-Nakhal, a nice young Muslim woman at a Rotary Club Meeting this week in Woodland.

Or do I believe this guy, Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali?

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat?

"The uncovered meat is the problem."

The sheik then said: "If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."

He said women were "weapons" used by "Satan" to control men.

"It is said in the state of zina (adultery), the responsibility falls 90 per cent of the time on the woman. Why? Because she possesses the weapon of enticement (igraa)."

So who is telling me, an infidel cowboy in Esparto, the truth?

It seems likely that inside the US, the young woman at the Rotary is truly speaking about the Islam she knows and loves. The problem is outside the US, where the sheik's view of Islam is just as known and loved. That is the Islam I am worried about.

The folks from CAIR remind me of 'Baghdad Bob'. Remember Saddam's minister of 'the things you are seeing on TV aren't really happening' or whatever the guys title was. CAIR wants you to believe that all Muslims are just like them, happy people who mean us no harm and want to be left alone to worship a religion we don't understand much about. The problem is there are a few million Muslims in the world who want us dead. That is a fact. They wanted is dead before 9/11, before the war in Iraq and before we changed the formula in Classic Coke. They hate us because they have been taught to hate us by their parents and grandparents.

How many Muslims were killed last year in the US by Jews and Christians who just wanted them dead because of their religion? Anybody? Anybody?

What about Seattle? Oh yea, that was a Muslin nutjob gunning down Jews because, well they are Jews. Or the Muslim grad student who rented an SUV and tried to kill as many students as he could at UNC to protest the treatment of Muslims around the world? Those are just the ones off the top of my head.

I have an idea, why not send the folks from CAIR back out into the Arab world to teach and inform the rest of their Muslim brethren that we here in the US are not the Devils that the local cleric down at the mosque says we are. And while you are at it, try telling that to the folks down at the mosque here inside the US. That would have more of an impact than getting on TV every time a Muslim goes nuts and shoots up a Jewish school, demanding that the local police do all they can to eliminate any anti-Muslim backlash.

A long time forgotten.

A long time forgotten, the dreams that fell by the way.

Do you have dreams that fell by the way? I do. I believe we all do. Some silly, some unbelievably unattainable, some that would have been fun to experience, some that would have ended tragically because deep down we are still the imperfect beings that we are.

I had the good fortune of having my friend Larry go with us on our last hunting trip. Larry is in his late 70's and is retired from a career in law enforcement and a stint in the army. Larry had lived his life, he will not be getting the cleaning deposit back when he is through with it. After a day of hunting in the mountains, we would sit back around the campfire, having an adult beverage and swapping stories. I asked Larry if he had any regrets, or an opportunity that he passed on that he now wishes he had taken. He told us that he had an opportunity to be a game warden in the area where we were now hunting, Modoc County, he said he thought that would have been great. He also said that you never can tell how things might have worked out. All in all, he had no regrets.

I remember one piece of wisdom Larry gave my friend Dan. They were deer hunting and they had both killed nice bucks the same day. That night as they watched the sun set, Dan was saying what a perfect day they had, Larry agreed and then said that too many people spend their lives trying to relive that day or time in their life and are miserable as a result. I thought about it and I agree.

I remember going to the Stonyford Rodeo as a young man. Not that I went to the rodeo mind you, I have only watched it once in the six or seven trips I have made. The Stonyford Rodeo was just an excuse to spend the weekend at East Park Reservoir, camping with my drunken friends. The first few times I had a fantastic time, at least the parts that I can remember. The last time I went, the crowd had changed, it was younger and probably just as loud and obnoxious as we were at that age. I havenÂ’t been there in years, if I do go back it will be for the rodeo. The point is, you can spend years chasing your youth. Drinking yourself into a stupor in your 20's is dumb, doing it in your 30's is ridiculous and sad. If you're over 40 and still drinking yourself into a stupor, brother, you have problems and need real help and fast.

I enjoy the good times as they come. I just don't need the sensory stimulation of being in the front row at a Van Halen concert. I get a great feeling watching my children grow and experience things for the first time. A party in the back yard with my friends or spending a day hunting with son is wonderful. I also enjoy a beautiful sunset, or just a quiet time alone in prayer. My idea of a good time has changed over the years.

Well, maybe one more Van Halen concert, if they ever bring back David Lee Roth.

Angry? Yes. Not voting? Are you kidding?

As I write this, I am angry. My anger comes from a few different sources and both targets are at the opposite ends of the political spectrum. The first source of my anger is indeed part of the dreaded 'Republican backlash'. I am still fuming about the moderate republicans giving cover to the democrats by opposing the administration's detainee treatment program. I am angry at the administration's late to the party attitude on border security. I am angry that Mark Foley is a drunken pervert and wasn't caught sooner. I am angry at that it took an election year for the Republicans to actually pass any type of spending discipline, and a weak one at that. Yes, I am angry at Republicans.

I am also angry at the way the media covers the Republicans missteps, mistakes and just plain stupidity. Do a search on the Washington Post for Mark Foley scandal, 337 hits. Any stories on Harry Reid and his land deal? 16 hits. The playbook is classic, just like the DUI story days before the 2000 vote. Suppress the conservative voter turnout and the Democrats win.

So here I am, sitting in my semi-comfy Office Depot chair 16 days away from the election, am I really contemplating sitting this election out? Am I going to show those damn Republicans how the cow ate the cabbage and let them loose this election so we can do a little purification of our ranks for 2008? Not on your life.

If Keith Olberman thinks I am sitting home on election day to protest my displeasure with Republicans he needs to put down the crack pipe and get back to someplace resembling the real world.

I will be walking precincts next weekend and sending what money I can to where it will do the most good.

Speaker of the House Nancy?
I shudder at the thought.

My mail box is getting full.

Is it just me or is everyone sending voter guides and mailers to every living human with a mail box?

I know a few folks running for office this year and the amount of money it takes to run a congressional campaign is staggering. I often wonder if the mailers and the yard signs are products of habit. That's what you do when you run for office, you mail unsolicited cards to registered voters and put up yard signs. Habit.

I know name recognition is a big part of the game with most of the electorate. If they know your name you have a huge leg up on your opponent, unless your name happens to be Mark Foley.

Why not spend an evening at every volunteer firehouse, school, senior center and taco truck in your district. Sure you are going to get the one or two moonbats at every event. But I would spend time in every place that holds more than 20 people at least three nights a week until the people are sick of seeing you in their town. The may get tired of you, but I bet they will know your name and know you position on the issues.

I know its easier to mail out glossy card stock pamphlets and pound in a few hundred yard signs, but how does that make you any different that the guy you are running against? Gas is getting cheaper, two dozen donuts and a pot of coffee don't cost much and talking is free. Meeting with the chamber of commerce in a town or city is great, but I would ask those folks to hold an 'ask your candidate' night at their home or local fire station. Answer the dumb questions, but get people thinking about one man or woman. The person they vote for. If they have met that one person, they may feel connected to their government just a little bit more. That is the first step.

When they start asking what you can do for them, answer like Ronald Reagan "I can't do a damn thing for you if I don't get elected".

What did I miss?

Like a bad rash, I have returned.

I came through the door last night about 8:00, said hello to the family and headed straight for the shower. After a debrief by the wife of the events I missed while I was away, I gave her the high and low points of my trip and went to sleep. For any of you who have spent a week or more sleeping on the ground in a freezing tent, you know the joy of slipping between the cotton sheets of your own bed. I am just now getting to my bags for unpacking and laundry. Yes, I am being lazy today, if that's ok with you. Or even if its not.

I did not get a buck.
Am I disappointed? I little.
Did I have a bad hunting trip? Not at all.

When my friend Mark picked me up at my house and we drove my Jeep onto the car trailer, we had hopes that we would be able to get into some tight places that we could not reach with a full size pickup. That was the plan. The plan started coming unraveled around the town of Maxwell when one of the wheel bearings on the trailer started spewing white smoke from the left side. Crud. On to plan B.

We decided the best course of action would be to limp the trailer back to Mark's house in Arbuckle and proceed to Alturas to meet up with the rest of the party at our friend's house. We gathered my gear from the Jeep and headed back up the road towards Modoc County. I kept telling myself that when it comes to deer hunting there are the essentials and everything else is just makes the trip more comfortable. The essentials are - rifle, ammunition, hunting license and deer tag. I made sure those went inside the pickup and threw the rest of my gear in the back.

We spent the night at my friend Stig's house in Alturas. He moved from Yolo County last year and knows the area we would be hunting. I could have used a good nights sleep but Stig wakes up at 4:00 every day, so I joined him for breakfast and we talked about his new place and life in Modoc County. Before he left he gave us some much needed fire wood and we drove up into the Warner Mountains in search of a good spot to camp.

We found a great spot back in the mountains to make camp. This little stream was a few hundred feet from camp and we would find deer grazing there in the mornings as we went for water.

We set up both wall tents and my dome tent, we had planned to use the big wall tent as kitchen and dining hall if the weather turned bad but after the first night's rain storm it was clear and cool all week. We spent the rest of the day looking for deer sign and a good spot to hunt for the morning.

Mark and I ran into a few does and fawns on opening day but no bucks. The next day we hooked up with Dan and Larry and decided to walk a ridge down into a valley. That was a good idea. Mark and Larry killed nice bucks about forty yards from each other. When we finished skinning and dressing the bucks and had them wrapped in deer sacks we stopped and had a toast to 'bucks in camp'.

The next few days I hunted with my friend Dan. We hiked, walked and stalked the Warner Mountains without seeing a legal buck for a day or two. At that point we decided to go check his cows down in Madeline. It was a two hour drive from camp down dirt roads with small sections of asphalt thrown in to break up the dusty, bouncy trip. We found most of his cattle at a small windmill in a high dessert meadow. I love the high dessert, some people see sage brush and rocks, I see the beauty of it. We counted the cows and calves and wrote down the ear tag numbers and went back to Stig's house for a real shower.

The next day we set out to hunt a small piece of unburned timber close to where Larry and mark had shot their bucks. As we finished our hunt I decided to see if there was anything back on top of the ridge and Dan was waiting below as I saw the flash of horns that belonged to a big buck go crashing down the side of the ridge. I knew the shot had to be Dan's and I went down to see if he had gotten a clean shot. He did. This was the only buck I saw on the trip. I was only able to see the top of his head for an instant before he ran down the hill, but I a glad that Dan was down there, I doubt if I would have had another chance at him.
I was now the only guy in camp without a deer. Every buck our party had taken was within one hundred yards of me. I had just been on the wrong side of the ridge or pushed the buck to the shooter. Oh well, I still had a few days to hunt.

I must have walked 20 or 30 miles in the week at over 6,000 feet in elevation. I came down from a hike to find a truck parked at the bottom of the hill and talked with two hunters. They said they had watched me walk down the ridge and through a small valley, but I didn't push out any deer. The one guy said I was 'the walkinest fat guy' he had ever seen. I said thanks, I think.

The next day Dan and I drove into Likely for grub. Likely is small town, and this is coming from a guy who lives in a small town. Likely is a bar, a cafe and a general store. It's just like the town I grew up in, minus the bar and cafe. On the way we were held up by a local traffic jam. An outfit was pushing a few hundred cows and calves down the road. We stopped and offered the cowboys a cold one, but they said they would wait until they were finished. It reminded me of being a kid pushing cattle down the road, smiling at the city folks who were furious at us for using 'their' road to move our cows.

The last evening I had decided to take more pictures of the trip. I always wish I had taken more photos that I did on any trip and thought this might be my last chance. I took this shot of Eagle Peak and slid the camera back in front pocket, at least I thought it was pocket. It wasn't.
My Kodak Easyshare CX7530 went crashing down the thirty foot cliff I was sitting on and I was sick. I though I had lost all the pictures of our trip and I spent the next hour walking up and down a freakin' cliff trying to find my camera. Just about dark, Mark came to pick me up with his truck. I told him what happened and he started climbing the rock face to see what could find. He found my camera snagged on a log in the rocks, it still worked. We drove back to camp in a great mood. I didn't get a buck, but I did have the pictures of our trip. Those seem to last a lot longer than the venison.

I may post more photos of the trip if I get permission from my friends to put their mugs on the internet.

Light Blogging? No Blogging!

This may be my last post for a fortnight. I am heading out on a hunting trip for 10 days and being the procrastinator I am, I have so much to do.

Tune up and service the Jeep.
Finish packing my hunting gear.
Finish packing my camping supplies.
Watch the three movies I rented Monday. ( what was I thinking )
Find my darn polypropylene long underwear.
Snowseal my boots.
Ect. ect.

I am hunting the north east corner of California.
The weather is going to be nasty for a while but is due to be clear and cold next week.

I will be miles and miles away from a computer, and besides, taking my laptop to deer camp is a sin, I am not sure if it is mortal sin, but I am not willing to take that chance. That and the fact my friend Dan would surely use it to drive his tentpegs into the ground. He is a deer camp purists. I will have to hide my all-in-one shampoo conditioner from him. He never misses a chance to ridicule a fellow camper from a breach of etiquette.

I will return the 14th or so with a scuffy beard, a nice buck in the freezer (hopefully) and some great stories to tell you.

See ya!

Homecoming - a small town's big deal.

Last night, my wife and I took our daughter to the Esparto High School's homecoming football game. From our house you can see the glow of the lights and on a still night you can hear the soft muffled voice of the public address announcer. Fall is football season. It is my season.

As we walked to the gate past the cars and trucks, mostly trucks, that line the end of the field, the homecoming ceremony was in full swing. The site of the stretch Hummer limousine on the 50 yard line stood in stark contrast to the many farm trucks parked outside. Esparto is a farm town, but that is changing. With the explosive growth of the Cache Creek Casino and the large suburban style housing tracks being built, the town is quickly becoming a bedroom community for those who work in the bay area and a rural escape for those who come from the Sacramento region. This story is not exclusive to Esparto, every small farm town and city that lies a few miles from an Interstate highway in California is being developed. No one can hold back the hands of time and while we like to see our homes increase in value, our small towns seem to be loosing their identity. I hope we can hold on to ours, this valley is a special place.

We pay our five dollar fee at the gate and walk past the boosters club grilling burgers and hot dogs to find a seat in the stands. The short walk takes quite a while. Neither my wife or I attend Esparto high school. I moved hear just after High School from Redding and my wife was a city girl from Carmichael. I have lived here off and on for almost 15 years, but I consider it my hometown.

One my way I am stopped by a friend who lives up the valley, I officiated at his son's wedding this summer and he wanted to thank me again and tell me that he just learned that the couple will be expecting their first child next year. We talked about the better than average dove hunting this year and the rest of his family. His family has been in the Capay Valley for six generations or so. I say goodbye and head down through the small bustling crowd to find my wife talking to the moms from our daughter's soccer team. She made a deal that we would sit at one end of the stands and she would be at the other, we could then let the girls roam free between us. The girls giggle and run off to see the sights.

My wife could not get over how small the field is. She was sure the football field was not regulation size. I assured her it was, its just that you are only fifteen or twenty feet from the side lines and sitting at field level. My daughter and her friend stood on the other side of the rope that separates the players from the crowd. Both girls mimicked the moves of cheerleaders as best they could. My wife and I laughed and wondered how long it would be before she would be out there. A long time is my hope.

The game was played well by both sides. Both teams had a good running game but as always in high school football, two or three players can make the difference. The Esparto running backs could get to the corner and turned upfield for several long runs and a few touchdowns. The team from Los Molinos just didn't have the speed to get outside. They did well running between the tackles, but could not could not sustain a drive. The final was 29 to 6 if I remember right. A great game for Esparto, who have not had many winning seasons lately. The night was not without a dark spot. A player from Los Molinos was taken off the field on a back board after a pileup. The crowd drew quiet and the players from both sides took a knee as the EMTs and local fire department staff looked after the young man. I have not been able to find any more information about the condition of the player, but it seems to have been just a precaution that he was on a back board. A scary time for his parents I am sure.

Watching the game from the stands you can hear the helmets hit and the players yell "pass! pass! ball! ball!" on fake reverse. It's great. I watched the girls with half their hair painted blue and the other side silver, walk up and down the sidelines talking to their friends. I recognized one from the 4-H club where I used to teach leathercraft. Many of the kids I know from 4-h or little league will be starting high school next year, I will have to come to more games.

There were many, many more people I didn't know at the game. I hope that the new residents of Esparto enjoyed homecoming in this small town. If you came from the city, you might wonder where the marching band is, or wonder why the teams only field between twenty to thirty players? Why is there a baseball infield on the twenty yard line?

Relax, this is Esparto, gateway to the Capay Valley. We may not be big time, but we have a good time.

From the what won't people eat files.....

Beijing's penis emporium.

Now before you go off thinking this is a place frequented by John Mark Carr, read the story.

The dish in front of me is grey and shiny.

"Russian dog," says my waitress Nancy.

"Big dog," I reply.

"Yes," she says. "Big dog's penis..."

We are in a cosy restaurant in a dark street in Beijing but my appetite seems to have gone for a stroll outside.

Nancy has brought out a whole selection of delicacies.

They are draped awkwardly across a huge platter, with a crocodile carved out of a carrot as the centrepiece.

Nestling beside the dog's penis are its clammy testicles, and beside that a giant salami-shaped object.

"Donkey," says Nancy. "Good for the skin..."

She guides me round the penis platter.

"Snake. Very potent. They have two penises each."

I did not know that.

Dude, I didn't know that, and I didn't want to know that.
And people from New York freak out in California when we order pineapple on our pizza....

Packing - man style.

I can think back to the days of being single, when the only excuse you needed for a two day road trip was enough money to fill the tank. Packing for the trip? It went something like this.
Find sleeping bag and unroll.
Remove dirty and somewhat stiff socks and empty beer can from sleeping bag.
Grab the cleanest t-shirt from your dresser or cardboard bank box, and one long sleeve shirt that can pass for a dress shirt if need be.
Find a pair of clean 501s and a change of socks and underwear.
If you have time, grab your toothbrush and deodorant.
All this goes into one end of the sleeping bag and gets rolled up.

Packing done.
Time; 2:30 seconds. Snag a handful of CDs for the trip and head out the door to pick up your buddy who is packing less than you have.

Those days are long past. I am now old. Old and almost domesticated. I find in my rapidly advancing age that I am fond of comfort. I also enjoy convenience and hygiene more than I did in my teens and twenties. I used to scoff at the cupcakes who had to shower after three days of deer hunting. Today I bring my liquid soap/shampoo and a full toiletry kit to take my shower every evening when I camp.

Have I turned into a Sissy?
Darn straight.

My three friends and I have been drawn for a limited tag deer hunt this year in the North East corner of our State.
I will be gone ten days or so. I am a week away from our departure and I have started packing this evening. I am taking my Jeep, tent, camp kitchen, cot, bed-roll, two rifles, three knives, back pack, fanny pack, two pair of binoculars, and enough food and clothing to outfit the Corp of Discovery.

I believe there is one other factor that has enabled my fall from the true manly man I once was to the soft creature of comfort I am today; Money.

When I was in school, I had just enough folding money to put gas in the tank and buy a lift ticket in the winter and a hunting license in the summer. The reason I didn't pack my LL Bean three season goretex jacket and self inflating air mattress is simply because I didn't own anything like that. I had an army surplus parka, and a GI issue mummy bag with all the goose down bunched up in the end. I was however, painfully unaware of how miserable I should have been. I had many great times out in the wilderness despite the inadequacies of my gear and bank ballance.

Today I scoff at the fifty and sixty year olds who pass me on the way to their hunting trips in 40 foot 5th wheel travel trailers and I say 'what a bunch of cupcakes, why not just stay at a hotel'. I am sure this too will come back to haunt me. In a few short years I will pass by a couple of college age kids in a Toyota pickup with only back packs and rifle cases in the bed. They will be giving me the 'cupcake' look as I pass them in my 40 foot motor home on my way to deer camp.

I just hope I still as much fun as they do.

Coming this fall to Fox - Extreme legacy makeover!

Not often do I feel sympathy for members of the media. I must make an exception for Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday. Wallace is one of the best in the business, for all you Bush haters who think the Fox News Channel is programmed and directed by Karl Rove, turn off your hatred and watch it for a week. One thing is for sure, you won't find the venom and absolute hatred of a Keith Olberman on Fox.

I would say that Shepard Smith leans a little too far right at times to do pure news. When he is reading the teleprompter and sticking to his script, he is down the middle of the political road, when he does stand ups and remotes, he comes off as someone who votes GOP. That said, look at the rest of the shows, Hannity and Colmes gives both sides, Greta is no Republican, O'Reilly leans right on some issues, but is liberal on others, Brit Hume is the best broadcaster in the business period. Hume is conservative, but here is the difference, when he is doing an interview, he is fair. Stop chuckling, it's true. He is the most professional TV newscaster on the tube.

Which takes me back to Chris Wallace and his interview with President Clinton Sunday. I was shocked as I sat on my couch watching the former President of the United States act like a school yard bully to someone who gave him a tough question. No wonder President Clinton does not give many interviews to anyone but those who adore him. I watched Clinton on Larry King a week or so and I was not surprised when Larry asked him one cupcake question after an other as Bill Clinton sat back and opined on how he almost gave us world peace. Almost Bill, almost.

After one tough question on Sunday, President Clinton went into full Legacy makeover mode, complete with red faced finger wagging.

So you did Fox's bidding on this show. You did your nice little conservative hit job on me.

Conservative hit job? How about liberal spin job?

I have watched Chris Wallace drive through the spin of every Bush administration official they have, from Rumsfeld to Rice. He asks tough, pointed questions and will not take a politospeak answer. Sometimes he gets the answer to his questions, sometimes they refuse, but he always asks.

Looking back, I think that Clinton has been itching for this interview and wanted to show his party how 'tough' he was. It seems to have impressed his wife.



My husband's nation security team... they would have done a better job...

Oh, do you mean this crew?

Sandy(how many incriminating documents can I sneak out in my sox)Berger.

Madeline(if we give North Korea nuclear technology what's the worst that can happen)Albright.

Is she serious?

Look, what is past is past. If President Clinton said that he should have realized that Islamic terrorism was a huge threat, one that might be snuffed out in it's infancy if we all would have understood what we were dealing with, that would raise his standing with me a great deal. The first attempt to take down the World Trade Center was in 1993. The Islamic terrorists miscalculated on how much explosives they needed to bring the towers down. We dodged a bullet that day and what did the President do? Let the FBI and the police handle it.

President Bush had less than 8 months to figure out what he would do about the threat, Bush and his staff read the papers and knew about terrorism and al-Qaida, he and his team failed to act fast enough. In his defense, remember the delayed transition of power as Gore tried to recount his way to the oval office for two months and the US military plane that was forced to land in communist China had the State Department's attention for the first few months of Bush's presidency.

Could the President have prevented 9/11 from happening? If everything fell into place just right, yes he could have. Is that a realistic expectation? Not really. For every one who points to this brief or that document that says, Bin Laden - planes inside US, I would like you to imagine how many briefs, reports, assessments and documents the President, any President is asked to review or is briefed on daily. How many a day do you think? Five, ten, thirty?

For all of you out there screaming that the President should have known and should have acted sooner to eliminate the threat, think about your reaction to a cruise missile strike on Hugo Chavez or the US special forces kidnapping of the Hezbollah leader or an invasion of Iran or North Korea. How would you react to that? Are any of those threat any less real or less dangerous than Bin Laden? Just how do you determine who is a real threat and how do you eliminate the threat? Or do you keep negotiating with them and hope they don't do something stupid like detonate a nuke in San Francisco?

If President Clinton wants to polish his image, fine. Those who like him, will still like him, those who hate him will still hate him, those in the middle, well if you don't have an opinion one way or the other, have another Jamba Juice and go look for that new pair of comfortable shoes, stay away from politics.

As for President Clinton's national security legacy, as my high school history teacher used to say, you can't polish a turd.

What a day.

Scary, frantic and tragic.
How was your day?

The day started about 6:00 with a call from the in-laws saying there were fires burning all around Esparto. I turned on the news and listened as they showed the flames racing through the hills of Zamora, Yolo and up the valley near Capay.

I started calling the people I knew in those areas and asked if they needed help getting animals out or moving equipment. Everyone said that the fire burned around most of their houses but I could not get in touch with our friends in Zamora. I knew the fire department would have the roads closed so I tried to get around through the back roads to no avail. I was held at Interstate 505 and Road 14. I asked the CHP if I could go through to check on my friends, they are in their 70s and their son is on the fire department so I knew he would out fighting the fire in the hills and wanted to check on the home ranch. He said I would have to wait until the fire fighters gave the go ahead and I sat there on the off-ramp for 30 minutes.

When he let me sneak through, what I saw was terrible. Blackened hills in 360 degrees. I drove past the smoldering remains of a barn and saw the cattle huddled in the tiny oasis of an unburned creek bed. When I saw the first of the dead sheep I knew there would be more, and there were. From the road I could see half a dozen dead ewes and many more that would not make through the day. Their wool was gray or black and the sheep stood frozen, in the sea of blackened grass, their rounded forms the only feature on the fire ravaged hillsides.

When I made the turn to Bill's house I was relieved to see it was standing and appeared to have made it through the fire. I knocked on the door and was greeted by Bill and Joan. They told me of the night they had just endured, watching the flames march over the hills down to their house. Bill had been on his caterpillar most of the morning, pulling his disc and trying to make the existing fire break bigger. He looked tired, dirty and a little shaken. Who could blame him.
With the help of the local volunteer fire departments, he had saved the house and the home barn, but knew he had lost dozens and possibly hundreds of sheep, and a most of the rangeland he would use to feed them over the winter was now acres of black.

After seeing that they were safe, I was going head into work. When I walked back out to my truck I saw a small fire along the road side ditch across from the barn. I went back to tell Bill and he said that they had no water hoses on that side of the barn and their phone was still out. Back in the truck I raced back to the freeway to get help. I pulled up as the Zamora tanker truck was pulling out, I told the guy with the radio that the barn was minutes from going up in flames. He asked, 'are you sure the barn is threatened?'
Yes! I said and sped back to the fire.

The water tanker arrived just as I did and while it is not a fire fighting vehicle, it does the two things you need to put out a fire, water and a hose. The hose isn't that long but with Bill's help we were able to knock down the flames before the fire made it to the barn. We were about 75 feet from the barn, so maybe it wasn't that close a call, but it was more excitement that I want to have from long time. The call must have gone out, because as we were mopping up, the cavalry arrived. Two brush rigs and five or six volunteers from Zamora and Yolo went into action and took over. I was glad to get out of the way.

Finally I was off to work, a few hours late and smelling like a campfire I pulled in to find one of the overhead shelters had lost it's roof. I spent the rest of the morning making sure that nothing else would fly off in the 40+ mile an hour wind. After lunch I received a call from my wife, she had taken our truck and horse trailer up to Bill's to move some his sheep that had been let out by someone from their burning pasture into a neighbor's alfalfa field. They were not burned but they had to be moved off the alfalfa before the rich feed made them bloat and possibly die. To make a long day a little longer, the truck had lost oil pressure and my wife had pulled over at same overpass I had waited on earlier that morning. I told my co-worker I would be back Monday and headed out to check on my wife and the truck.

Not good news, the motor is definitely not long for this world. I had to find a place to unhook the trailer, so I limped the truck to Bills ranch. I parked the trailer and waited for the towtruck.

While waiting I ran into the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Rescue Team. I spoke with the team leader, I can't remember the gentleman's name, but he had taken a group of vet students out to triage and tend to the sheep they could save. The stunned and burned sheep would not move to water and they called for a water truck from Zamora to take water out to where the sheep were. They had water but needed something to put the water in. I told them, if they couldn't find any near by, I had two 6 foot water troughs back at my barn. They said they could use them, so I gave them directions to my place and told them to take anything that they wanted. I pulled in to my house just as they were leaving, and I wished they good luck with the sheep.

In a day of tragedy and suffering, there are bright spots. Bright spots in many forms. Help from strangers and friends, help from a group of vet students and as I was pulling out of Bill's front yard, the Yolo County Red Cross stopped by to offer any assistance they could.

Many long and hard days face those farmers and ranchers in Yolo County who were impacted by this fire. As the news turns to a new story tomorrow, there will be people who will have to make the best of this tragedy. It will not be easy. They need your prayers, and some hay to feed their livestock this winter.

I just walked back into the house from feeding the horses. I think I will reheat last night's left-over mexican food and collapse into bed.

One flew over Hugo nest

What's that smell?
Sulfur?
No, it's horsesh#@.

After listening to Ahmadinejad stand history and logic on their heads to a crowd of soft minded diplomats from mostly corrupt and criminal regimes, I thought the asshatery of Hugo Chavez reminded me of Jerry Lewis playing to the Iranian President's Dean Martin.

Too bad they don't play Vegas.
Too bad it isn't a joke.

Maybe we can hear from Kim Jung Ill Thursday. He can give a presentation to the UN on the wonderful benefits of mass starvation and oppression.

In a dangerous world, you can face the threats head on, or you can vote for democrats.

Smoking kills? What about stupidity?

Yea, give me two packs of Camels, unfiltered to go.

"I was sitting back there, all this sound, and that's it," Singh said, pointing
at the car sitting in the middle of his store among shards of glass and
splinters of wood.

An entire wall of the store, along with a couple
display shelves were destroyed in the accident.

According to Woodland
police officer Matthew Gray, the driver was not intoxicated and the car had no
mechanical problems.

"I'm guessing it was a driver mistake," Gray said.

Driver error or a catastrophic failure of a nicotine patch?

Bikers, chili dogs and cold beer.

What in the world are you talking about now cowboy?

I know I am a little late in announcing this, but tonight being Thursday its 'Biker night' at the Capay Junction. Babs and the crew at the Junction will be serving chili dogs to any and all who ride up and wander in.

Having once been an avid motorcyclist, I appreciate the camaraderie of bikers. Although I preferred crotch-rockets to Harleys, I never had any trouble with anyone on two wheels. I have a few friends with Harleys and know most of the models and enough of the lingo not to get the crap kicked out of me if I happened to be the only guy on Japanese bike in a sea of Milwaukee iron. That and the fact that I am built like a offensive tackle.

The thing that makes me shake my head is the way some guys drink and ride. When I was young, I was a social drinker. I could pound em back with the best of them. Even then, I was smart enough never to drink and ride. I remember walking into a bar in old Sacramento one night and seeing two guys who rode in on brand new super bikes downing shots of Cuervo. I looked at my friend and told him if you ever see me sauced and wanting to get on my bike, you have my permission to knock me out.

The chili dogs are dangerous enough when you are wearing leather pants.

The hate speech of the Dixie Chicks.

I am ashamed. From the top of my FDNY cap down to the steel toes on my boots, I am filled with shame and a little embarrassment. I own two Dixie Chicks CDs. Well maybe not shame exactly but bit of sheepishness.

I listen to all kinds of music, Rock, Metal, Pop, Country, Classical, I have yet to find a way to appreciate rap or hip-hop, sorry, can't do it. My wife on the other hand is a big country music fan and her and my daughter know the words to almost every song on the Country top 40. When we go out on the boat, I let them choose most of the CDs, so I listen to the Dixie Chicks when I am out on the water. That's cool, I like their first two CDs, I have only heard bits and pieces of their new CD at stores like Starbucks and other 'progressive' places.

Natalie and the girls can make new CDs, play concerts, make videos, do whatever they want to do, no one is stopping them from pursuing their music or their money. Just don't give me a bad time or call me a fascist if I don't play along.

The last time I checked, I still live in America, land of the free and home of the brave. Being the good capitalist I am, I vote with my wallet. If I don't agree with Natalie Maines statements about President Bush or we disagree on the best way to eat corn on the cob, I don't have to buy her next album.

Her latest rant is proof positive that she is filled with hatred for the President.
After watching an interview where President Bush said "The Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind, they shouldn't have their feelings hurt just because some people don't want to buy their records when they speak out. You know, freedom is a two-way street." Maines came unhinged.

After watching this footage, Maines repeats the president's comment about how the group shouldn't have their "feelings hurt," incredulous, and then says, "What a dumb f---." She then looks into the camera, as if addressing Bush, and reiterates, "You're a dumb f---."

How nice. And may I add, very mature.

Maines is undoubtedly in the top three percent of the wealthiest Americans. She is set for life, unless she develops a 5,000 dollar a day cocaine habit or invests all her money in Al Gore's next movie. My point is, she is not being persecuted for her beliefs, she is taking a political stand that is unpopular with the huge fan base that used to purchase her product.

The Chicks are marketing their new album to young urban progressives, and they seem to be doing well. Why is she so upset at her former 'unsophisticated' country fans? We all just ignorant rednecks and hillbillies, loosing us should be no sweat off her liberal brow. She is an American citizen, she has the right to free speech just as I do. I however, realize that their are consequences to my speech, ranging from a high five to a punch in the nose. In her case, its not selling as many CDs as she once did.

Spewing hate speech about the President in a time of war is not un-American Natalie, its just a bad business decision. And it makes you look like spoiled child.

Conaway Ranch eminent domain takeover is dead

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors cut a deal to let the Conaway Ranch sell 1,500 acres in exchange for paying for the County's legal bills, about 2 million dollars.
What a fiasco.

What has been a drawn out battle regarding land and water ownership came to an abrupt end yesterday when The Yolo County Board of Supervisors announced that a settlement agreement was reached with the Conaway Preservation Group.

The main reason the County was trying to take the ranch was to keep the water here in Yolo County and to keep the owners from developing the ranch. The County seems to have structured the deal to allow the CPG to sell only surplus water. Ok, what about stopping development? (sounds of crickets chirping)

There is nothing in the deal to preclude the CPG from asking for a zoning change. Believe me, if the County had a provision to keep the CPG from developing the ranch, it would be on the front page.

At best the deal keeps the CPG from selling the water rights from the ranch to some municipality in southern California, at worst the 1,500 acres the County will allow the CPG to sell in order to pay the Board's legal bills is just the first step in developing the areas of the ranch not in the deep water flood plane.

I just hope Frank Sieferman doesn't strain his arm patting himself on the back.
He is up for re-election in November and taking the Conaway Ranch by the use of eminent domain was an anchor around his neck.

The path to 9/11 goes through Bill Clinton's lawyers.

From what I understand of the content, I am not a influential member of the media and have not yet been sent my advanced copy of the movie, but from all accounts the 'docu-drama' is hard hitting on both administrations.

Do you hear any whining or legal wrangling from the Bush administration?

Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.

The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest...

Nope, just from Bill-save-my-legacy-Clinton and his pals.

Maybe, just maybe.

Could it be that the Senate has finally corrected it's rectal-cranial inversion when it comes to spending?

The Senate unanimously passed S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.

The passage of this legislation is a triumph for transparency in government, for fiscal discipline, and for the bipartisan citizen journalism of the blogosphere.

Did we just pass the low water mark for the Republican Congress? Is it too late for them to put on their rally caps? Time will tell.