An update to my dilemma

When I walked into my managers office this morning and asked if I could close the door, her reaction was visible. I told her that I was resigning and told her of my other job offer. We talked about the opportunity at the University, she has many friends that work there and understood why I made my decision. I told her that I would stay on through August first and we talked about the list of candidates that she interviewed and would contact this week to schedule a second interview.

She wished me well and I did the same, I told her honestly that I have had many public sector clients in the past and her department stands out by the way everyone works together and actually works hard. I have seen many government departments where half the people are just counting the years until they can retire at 80% pay. They eager ones get burned out and eventually assimilate to their environment or move on. The problem employees don't go anywhere, they just sit at their desks and do as little as possible, and sometimes less.

So I will continue to work hard for the County until my last day. Then I start work on Monday for the University.

Meanwhile, back at my moral dilemma.

I have an unpleasant conversation coming with my manager tomorrow. I have been at my present job for two weeks now. I like the people, I like my manager, and the job is going well, but tomorrow I will give notice that I am resigning effective August first.

When I decided that I would look for a new job, I put in two applications for different jobs in the public sector. One with the County and one with the University. I interviewed for both positions and both interviews went well I thought. My current employer, the County, offered me a position and since I had not yet heard from the University, I accepted my current job. I was very surprised when I received the job offer from the University this week.

My reasons for choosing to work for the University is not really about money, it is more about the environment and the ability to move forward. Working at the University on the farm is where I am most comfortable and is what I love to do. My opportunities for upward mobility are greater at the University by a factor of 10.

This decision has not been an easy one. I know that I will be putting my manager in a tight spot until they fill my position, I also know that they interviewed other candidates for my job and I hope they will find a replacement soon. I feel terrible about leaving, but if I must leave, I am relieved that the County did not invest a lot of time and money into my training.

I cannot help feeling like I am running out on a marriage because I found a prettier girlfriend. At least I can call this an annulment.

PMD update from the UK.

How many of these new terrorist headhunters are in America assembling resumes for a new attack?

A government memo published in the Sunday Times last weekend warned that a loose group of "extremist recruiters" sympathetic to the al Qaeda network was targeting susceptible young Muslims, especially those with technical and professional qualifications in engineering and computers. Most did not have police records, it said.

Do you really want to rescind the Patriot Act now?

At least one Englishman has it right

If you are not a reader of Mark Steyn, you should be, he is a refreshing breath of air across the pond. This week's post it exceptional.

Terrorism ends when the broader culture refuses to tolerate it. There would be few if any suicide bombers in the Middle East if "martyrdom" were not glorified by imams and politicians, if pictures of local "martyrs" were not proudly displayed in West Bank grocery stores, if Muslim banks did not offer special "martyrdom" accounts to the relicts thereof, if schools did not run essay competitions on "Why I want to grow up to be a martyr".

Ah, the sting of the whip, the smell of the leather.

Get you mind out of the gutter, I am talking about a new saddle.
My wife has purchased a new saddle. A Gaits of Gold four beat saddle, what ever that is.
It is a center-fire rigged saddle with a semi flexible tree and a unique design for the gaited horse.

It seems to fit her Tennessee Walker better than her old Simco or Tex-Tan. I remember when a store bought saddle cost $300 and was built with a quality rawhide covered tree and covered in Herman Oak leather. That was a when a new truck cost under 10,000 dollars, so I was a bit surprised by the price tag on her new saddle. Most of the 'off the rack' saddles you find today are junk, no kidding, junk. I would not put one of those 400 dollar, India leather over a Fiberglas tree, horse cripplers on any horses I own. Most are built in Mexico and are air-stapled and screwed together. You would be better off to ride bareback than to ruin you horses back with a cheap saddle. It's a shame, I see many unsuspecting people buy a saddle that looks just like the 1,000 saddle for half the price. Big mistake.

My last custom built Wade saddle cost about $1,500, and I would not part with it for three times what I paid for it. It is built on a Wade 17 inch slick fork bullhide tree, 7/8 rigged with a Montana flat plate. It has a 4 inch straight up cantle and a 3 1/2 inch semi-post horn. Round skirt and roughout bucking rolls. Full basket stamp, and I had to put a few German silver conchos on it. It is, for me, the perfect saddle. It was build by a friend of mine ten years ago, and looks better today then it did when he delivered it.

A good saddle that fits your horse is an investment that will pay dividends for many years.
Now she has to break it in, but that is another post.

Pi anyone?

What did you do this weekend? Did you catch the game on Sunday?

No, I was memorizing pi.

Why?

It don't cost nothin'.

Persons of Mass Destruction - PMDs

As much as I believe that we must destroy the radical Islamic terrorists where the live and train, I am convinced more than ever that we are not guarding the back door. No matter how hard we try to defeat the Islamic radicals overseas, a few terrorist will get into the US and attack us, that is just the way it is. With the liberal immigration laws in Europe, anyone can claim political asylum and become a citizen, then travel to the US on a French, German or English passport without extensive scrutiny from customs. Terrorists will come here, they are most likely here already. That is a terrible situation to contemplate, but there is also another, much larger threat.

The radical Imams and clerics that come to America to teach their hatred to anyone who will listen. They don't need to bring in 19 hijackers to America when they can recruit their own terrorist from within our borders. The are PMDs.

Young people of any race who are taught by the radical left to hate America are perfect candidates for these Imams. While Al Franken and Michael Moore are preaching what is wrong with the world today is America, especially Republican America, they are unwittingly preparing the ground that could be used by Islamic radicals or environmental radicals for that matter to turn them into terrorists. Not to mention what Ward Churchill and our universities are teaching them.

Lord help us if Al Qaeda ever figures out how to harness the radical environmentalists into a co-jihad against the American way of life. It makes perfect sense, the wahabist want everyone to revert back to sharia law and the 14th century way of life, mud huts and donkeys will use considerably less energy that our way of life.

Islamic Earth First, I get shivers just thinking about it.

To get back to my point, I believe that we face a real crisis from these PMDs. The only way to curb this threat is with help from the American Muslin community. If they hear a Imam preaching that they should send their young people to Pakistan to train with those who have the true faith, call the FBI. If they teach that all Muslims should support Hezbollah or Hamas, call the FBI.

The First Amendment to the Constitution does not protect one against sedition. That is exactly what these PMDs preach.

Put some more lipstick on that pig boys, we got a budget deal.

As the Governor and the Democratic leadership applaud themselves for the compromise deal on the budget, Tom McClintock talks about the elephant in the room.

I am sorry to interrupt the chorus of self-congratulations, but I feel compelled to state an obvious fact -that this budget is $6 billion out of balance; that the state's chronic deficit spending is getting worse, not better; and that the growth of general fund spending is growing and not shrinking.

Nor can I join applauding the 'painstaking negotiations' that have produced this document. The fact is, in May the Governor proposed spending $88 billion (General Fund), the Democrats countered at $89 billion, and they have now compromised at $90 billion. I suppose it is a blessing that the negotiations didn't go on any longer.

Get the full text here.

England mourns as we complain about Gitmo abuse.

The bombings in London serve notice, once again, of who we are facing in this war. I am not using the term war on terror any longer, I am calling it what it is, a war against radical Islam. The murderous human beings whom we are fighting, will continue their slaughter until they are wiped from the face of the planet. That is not an opinion, that is a fact.

The majority of Americans would rather watch Oprah and Desperate Housewives that actually research who wants them dead in the worst way. I will say again. If we pull out of Iraq tomorrow, if we change our currency to proclaim 'In Alah we trust", if President Bush calls for a joint session of Congress where he offers our unconditional surrender to Bin Laden, if we kill all the hogs in North America and re-write the Constitution to reflect sharia law, they will still want us dead. That means you, and your children and your parents.

If you think that statement is in error, I would only point out that most of the deaths in Iraq are Muslim on Muslim. The wahabist terrorist don't care if the people they slaughter are Muslim, Christian, or Jew, they have been told by an Imam that they need to blow themselves up and take as many infidels with them as possible. Muslim infidels?

We will not have peace with this enemy. We cannot negociate with this enemy. We must crush them and the radical Islamic infrastructure that breeds, feeds and instructs them. Peace marches and visits by Sean Penn to Iran will not keep one wahabist terrorist from blowing up a pizza parlor in Santa Monica. Closing down Gauntanimo Bay will not stem the tide of hatred for anyone their Imams have taught them are responsible for their current condition.

Our grandchildren will ask us why we acted in half measures when confronted with such a deadly enemy? Why did it take an atomic weapon going off in Boston harbor for you to realize what you had to do? What will we say?


On the Plains of Hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the Dawn of Victory, sat down to wait, and waiting—died! - George W Cecil

They are waiting as fast as they can.

A letter to the editor of any paper is written and waiting to be sent. It just needs a name.

To the Editor of the ***&&%%%,
I am shocked that the President would nominate _________ to the Supreme Court of the United States. __________'s views on personal freedoms and personal rights are extreme and far out of the main stream of America today. This President uses terms like uniter not a divider, yet he has the gaul to nominate an extreme ideologue such as ________. The President had the chance to bring this country together, to move past the partisan bickering and nominate a person that would be acceptable to everyone, not just the extreme religious right. ________'s nomination is a slap in the face to every person who believes in personal rights and freedoms, especially a woman's right to choose. I would urge the Senate to vigorously oppose the nomination of ________ and send a message to the President. He should send a nominee to the Supreme Court that would protect everyone's rights, not try to push their religious views on our country.


My point is that the left and it's millions of dollars are coiled like spring, under tremendous strain just waiting to be set in motion. Unless the President nominates Alberto Gonzales, his nominee will be put through the electron microscope of the main stream media and it's friends with the checkbook to investigate every aspect of the nominees life from high school until today. I am sure they will find something real or fabricated to beat this nominee to a pulp.

I would like to have had a chance to shine a little light on Ruth Ginsberg for her radical views before her confirmation hearings. The republicans who investigated her knew what she stood for, the difference is the leadership said that Clinton won and he gets to pick his judges.

What a novel concept.

A very busy week

This past week has been a busy one for me. I started a new job and have been consumed with paperwork and other necessities that go along with such things. I hope this week I will be able to settle into a routine and keep my blog current.

Bring the troops home now?

Most Americans who bothered to watch the President's speech last night had long since made up their minds about the purpose and progress on the war in Iraq. If you supported the war against terror before, you feel justified in your support after the speech. On the other hand, if you are a Moveon/Howard Dean Democrat, you probably didn't make it through the first ten minutes of the broadcast before you threw a Birkenstock at the television, screaming liar.

The Moveonpac.org folks already had its talking points and letters to the editor links up before the speech had aired. What is their Plan? They want to bring the troops home now. Have the UN train the Iraqis. Cut our losses, our presence there is exacerbating the problem, Bush lied! Quagmire!

Nice plan.

I believe the President has an exceptional exit strategy. It is called victory.

Victory is when the Iraqi government has a sufficient force to protect itself from these foreign terrorists. If the United States pulls its forces out of Iraq right before the Iraqi government can defend itself, it will set in motion the largest genocide since Pol Pot in Cambodia. Lebanon will see the Syrian tanks run through the streets as the secret police execute the leaders of the democratic reform movement. The West Bank and Gaza will erupt into a full scale war where thousands of innocents on both sides will perish. Sounds like a great plan.

It just sounds better all the time.

I man, a message and a moment of decision.

Seeing the coverage of what will be Billy Graham's last crusade in the US, I cannot help but recall my experience. I was fourteen when I accepted Christ as my savior. I was taken by my friend to church that summer in Palo Cedro California. The church was called Little Country Church, at the time services were held at the local school gym and were very casual. Shorts and t-shirts were the dress code and all were welcome. I raised my hand and started down the path, it has been a steep and rocky path at times. The first few steps were easy, the next few years, as I became more independent, became very difficult. The path would have been much easier to follow with a guide and encouragement. It tried to do it on my own and that was a mistake.

I say this not to speak of myself, but to illustrate the way that Billy Graham's crusade works. When you raise your hand and walk down to the alter call, you are met by someone who gives you a few words of encouragement and takes down your information. In the next few days there will be a follow up calls from a local church to help the new Christian find a spiritual home.

I read the Times piece on Graham's crusade, the author tries his best to find slick marketing and a alternate motive. When journalists look at some one like Graham and try to find the 'real man' not just the public persona, they are in for a surprise. Graham is the real deal. In a world where the secular opinion of Christians is based on the Jim Bakers and Jimmy Swaggarts, a man like Graham is hard to believe. No scandals, no out of wedlock children, he seems to be just what he says he is, a man sent to spread the word of God to the world.

Billy Graham says he is a sinner, just the same as any Christian. I would like to think a man with the faith Graham's would somehow be removed from temptation and a sinful nature. The reason why Graham's message resonates so well with people is his honesty about our sinful nature. Very refreshing, a honest man with a honest message.

The only credible opponent to victory.

As I look at the recent discussion about the war in Iraq, I find myself trying to determine if there is any entity on earth that could defeat the American Military. I have found two, the extreme left of the Democratic party and the Main Stream Media. These two forces must act as allies for their goals to be met, the goals being the political defeat of George W Bush at any price and a vastly reduced American Military power. I will call them 'The Axis of Self Loathing".

As you hear the left and the MSM punditry declare an official "Quagmire" in Iraq, they are planting the seeds of an anti-war, anti-Bush crop that hope will flourish and be ready to harvest by November 2006 or at least by 2008. By constantly comparing the war on terror with the war in Vietnam, the far left is hoping that the American public will grow tired of the conflict and want to bring our service men and women home. As we get farther removed from the anger and determination that followed September 11th, the 'ASL' are betting on the public getting bored with war on terror, especially in Iraq. I am betting they won't.

America wants to see progress in Iraq, something that gets very limited coverage from the MSM, and is totally ignored by the left. I read my favorite Iraqi blogs and wonder how many in this nation know what is happening on the ground in Iraq. I am certain the number is very low. Not quite 40, I wonder if there were Americans during the battle of the bulge in 44 who thought that we should bring our troops home, the war is being terrible mismanaged and too many of our boys were being killed in a country that had never attacked us? I think there must have been. Pacifists have been around where ever there is conflict.

As I say and will keep saying, war is a terrible thing, but there is something much worse, loosing a war. Pulling our troops out and coming home will lead to wholesale slaughter in Iraq, a three way civil war and a much stronger Iran and Syria. The Iranian Shai will be fighting the Syrian Baathiss and both will be fighting the Kurds for control of Iraq's oil. Who ever wins, we loose.

There is no other course of action for the US. We must stay, fight and win. Even when Iraq has a suitable military and police force, we will have active bases there, just like we have in Germany and Japan.

Moyers wants ultra-liberal Democracy NOW on PBS.

If you never had the opportunity to watch Democracy NOW on Dish Network, you aren't missing much. The programming on Dem NOW is far left of Howard Dean. I just enjoy watching the distortion and lunacy of their socialist views.

Today I was watching Bill Moyers rail against the right wing republican control of the media, and all branches of government. The partisan rhetoric he spouts is laughable. Just one of the problems with the right wing republicans is the stifling of any and all 'alternate truth'. He said that he is being singled out because he is being a 'good muck-raking journalist'. Here is take on how the extreme right wing is in control.

What has happened now is that moderate Republicans have thrown in the towel. They have no influence in their own party, so the right wingers are driving this.

You are kidding, right Bill? I wonder if you watched the Senate moderates drive the nuclear option debate? Go tell Bill Frist that he doesn't have to worry about McCain, Chafee, Snow, Collins, Dewine and Warner anymore, he is in complete control of the Republicans.

Moyers is a mud-slinging political hack, I don't think the term journalist has applied to Bill for while. Why can't Mr. Moyers just be honest enough to say, I am a socialist. I believe his views fall much closer to socialism than democrat, let alone an independent journalist.

I would like for your audience of listeners, viewers, readers to besiege the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, and our stations, to get Democracy Now! as a regular broadcast in the programming of public television. I'm serious about this

If you want proof of Mr. Moyers partisan views, just watch Democracy now for an hour. If you think they are fair and balanced journalists, then you will agree with Mr. Moyers that they should be on PBS stations, funded by your tax dollars.

No thanks.

The polls that drive the news, or at least the media's views.

As we see wall to wall coverage of the latest poll showing the Governor approval rating sinking fast, we are also being screamed at by the media, the Democrats and all their minions that the people don't want to waste 80 million dollars on a special election.

Is it just me, or didn't we go through this all during the recall?
The people don't want to waste money on this silly recall, when we have such big budget problems. I remember the headlines and the news stories were almost word for word like this week's headlines. The 80 million (closer to 45 if you believe the Governors numbers) is a drop in the bucket compared to the billions that the Democrats want to spend over the Governors budget.

Most people don't know how much money the State spends. If you asked 100 people at Sunrise Mall this weekend, I would predict 9 people could tell you within 5 billion dollars what we spend. This election will have a very low voter turn out. It will be critical to talk to your neighbors and co-workers about voting.

The future of the State and your checkbook are at stake.

Rancher. Poet. Builder of skateboards.

It is not often when you can truly amaze your children. I had the good fortune to have this happen to me today. When my son and I returned home today, his new skateboard that he had worked for was on the front porch, delivered by DHL by way of E-Bay.

It came unassembled and my son wondered how we could put it together. I took him out to the shop and found my metric sockets and started assembly. He questioned my skateboard building credentials, but I assured him that I had a skateboard once, (a long time ago in a galaxy far far away) and it would be fine. I installed the trucks on the board, it's an Element you know, installed the wheel bearings and wheels then put the grip tape on the deck and trimmed it with my utility knife. I handed it to him after 15 minutes of work and he said, " gee Dad, I didn't know you knew so much about skateboards, you did great".

As a kid growing up on a ranch, I never knew skateboards existed until a new kid from LA showed up at school one day with some cool contraption that had little wheels attached to a piece of wood. That was about 1977. I wanted one in a bad way. My mother, wanting to know where I would ride it, balked at the idea. We owned 6,000 acres, but my entire sidewalk surfing would have to be contained on our only sidewalk, about 30 feet of concrete. I begged and groveled until we bought one in town. I could only ride it at school on the basketball court. That is until one of my buddies broke his arm and skateboards were not be ridden at school, and that means you mister. Skateboarding was a crime, well maybe not an official crime but it was not allowed on the grounds of Oak Run Elementary.

I remember the time my friend and I were skateboarding home one day from school. It was about 6 miles or so down hill most of the way. I am not sure if I have even been more terrified in my life than riding down a half mile hill at 35 miles an hour, too scared to get off because of the great speed, and too scared that I was going to be run over by the logging truck that was following me blowing his horn.

I soon gave up my dreams of being a Lord of Dogtown and went back to my life of chasing cattle and throwing rocks at frogs. Oh, but for a time, I was just as cool as any kid in LA. (well, at least I thought so)

You city folks and your automatic sprinklers.

Back, after a long weekend of irrigating. I know that some of you city dwellers may be asking how it could take all weekend to irrigate. 27 acres is why. Let me give you just a little taste of the Hell I call flood irrigation. It starts when the new neighbor who moved in from San Jose wanted to irrigate his pasture. He calls the local flood control/ irrigation district and orders three cubic feet of water per second to start at 5:30 am. The water tender opens the water gate at 5:30 sending the desired H20 down the ditch to points unknown to him, that's his job, he just opens the valve at the canal and goes to his next stop. It is the land owner who makes sure that the water goes through all the ditches that lead to his place so he may irrigate, sounds simple huh?

It is a relatively simple chore of closing the valves that divert the water flow to other ditches so you get the water you paid for. The first neighbor he flooded out was my father-in-law, who had just trenched all the water and electrical line to his barn and trenched out to the tail water ditch for the rain gutters on his barn. When the 3 feet of water came down his field it back flooded all the trenches in his barn and made a huge mess.

The next victim in the flooding was my friend Mark, the regular ditch tender who was moving cows over the weekend. His pasture had cattle on it and they stomped some new mud holes around his place.

Meanwhile back to our new friend from San Jose, he has been waiting for two days now and just has a trickle of water, he orders more water. The ditch tender opens the valve to let out 5 feet of water and whatever had not been flooded soon became a lagoon. That leads me back to my place. I live one field over from my new 'buddy'. When he finds out that he needs to do a little more that just order water and realizes that he is flooding everyone, he asks for help.

The new ditch tender shows him how to open the vavles and close the splash gates to direct the water to his field. Here is the problem, when he opens the valve that leads down my ditch, there is a tremendous amount of water backed up in the main ditch. There must have been 6 cubic feet of water coming through the ditch that is in my front yard. I have culverts in the ditch for my driveway and they can't take that amount of water. My front yard start to flood, that is where my septic system is. I call the water district guy and have him the water off until my 'buddy' can figure this out. The regular ditch tender, Mark, comes by the next morning to restore calm and show the city slicker what to do.

After my 'buddy' is done with his pasture, it is my turn. I ordered three feet of water and started at 5:30 Friday night and ended around 1:am Sunday. Checking the water involves the four wheeler and a shovel. I did get to use my new LED headlamp at night to make sure all the irrigation checks were getting watered and moving splash-gates. I am whooped by Sunday morning. I did make it to the 10:30 service at church and then went home to collapse on my couch.

I have yet to meet my buddy, I have been over there a time or two and have met the renter he has. But I believe I will tell him that they don't make an automatic timer for flood irrigation.

Take a friend to reality day.

Perhaps you have participated in a take your son or daughter to work day. I am of the opinion that these days are helpful to the parent, beneficial to the child and a pain in the butt to the employer who looses close to half of that employees productivity for the day.

Taking a child to your workplace exposes them to the real world. A world where "wouldn't it be great " meets, you better have this on my desk by Friday or else. In other words, reality. Even if the employee shifts down a gear to explain the world they work in, the child still gets a backstage pass to what will be like to be a responsible citizen.

I propose a new day, Take a friend to reality day.
You may have to do this on a weeknight or over a weekend, but the premise is this; take them away from their televisions, away from American Idol, away from CSI and get them to pay attention to the real world around them.

Show them what is happening in Darfur today, right now as they sit on their couch, thousands are being killed. Show them that the radical Islamic terrorists were there long before we invaded Iraq, and they want to kill you and your children. They will not stop wanting to kill you if we shut down Guantanamo Bay and turn it into a Baskin-Robbins. They hate America and Americans. They hated us when Bill Clinton was President, they will hate us when President Bush leaves office. They are not going away. If we bring the troops home, they will still attack us. I guess that would mean we would have more troops at home when we have to implement Martial Law after they start blowing up our schools and shopping malls, but I would rather kill the terrorists over seas than here at home.

Show them that they need to pay attention to what is going on around them. When they say, politicians are all the same, agree with them. Yes they are, they all think their ideas are right and the other guys ideas are wrong, you must do your part and find out who is one the side of truth more often. I would show them Kos and the bunch on the left to find out what the other side thinks. Tell them to look at both sides, follow their logic down a path guided by the reality of the world we live in and see which America they want their kids to live in.

A secular, socialist world where the churches are empty and the Government is seen as the solution to all your problems. Take a look at Europe for where this logic leads you.
Freedom means, free to smoke pot, free to demand someone else pay for whatever you want and freedom from religion anywhere at anytime.

They may choose to live in a world where America is strong, our people have a good idea about right and wrong, and freedom means security, a strong military, a sound economy and freedom of religion.

Or maybe they make another bag of popcorn and turn on Desperate Housewives.

Air conditioned to death.

A copy of the letter I sent to Senator Durbin today. Hat tip to Little Green Footballs

Dear Senator Durbin, your comments on the senate floor today causes me to question your knowledge of history.

You said

"When you read some of the graphic descriptions of what has occurred here-I almost hesitate to put them in the RECORD, and yet they have to be added to this debate. Let me read to you what one FBI agent saw. And I quote from his report:
On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold. ..... On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor."

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime-Pol Pot or others-that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."

You must be kidding. There is a museum near your offices, it is called the Holocaust Museum. It is located at 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Washington, DC.

I don't remember seeing the part where the Nazis air conditioned people to death.

I am not Jewish, I did not have any relatives killed in the Nazi concentration camps, the killing fields of Cambodia or the Gulags of the Soviet Union. I am just a citizen who knows partisan rhetoric when I hear it. I cannot imagine the outrage of your constituents you did loose family members in these genocides.

California news media, liberal in a good way?

I was listening to Eric Hogue talking to Daniel Wientraub from the Sac Bee today. The Insider was commenting on the views inside the editorial department at the Bee and why the paper is sometimes critical of the labor unions in California. His view, as I understood it is the liberal views of the editors are intact, they just think that the re-distribution of wealth from the rich to the poor is being hijacked by the labor unions. The money the State seems to take in is not going where the it should go. True liberals, stil love the unions, but want to put the poor first.

I am not sure that I disagree with this concept, if you accept the fact that re-distribution of wealth is inevitable. Living California, I am sure that until new district line are drawn, the democratic controlled state legislature will continue and even expand their efforts to confiscate as much wealth as possible from the top tax-payers in our state.

A very interesting conundrum the left-leaning MSM is in, does it call out one of their own, the bloated unions, or does it stand by their big labor friends at the expense of the needy?

Naw, they will just keep slamming Ahhnold.

Yolo County Registrar to residents; I will let you know if you can vote.

Some time ago I read a story from the Woodland newspaper The Daily Democrat, or as we call it, The Daily disappointment. It featured a story on Freddie Oakley, the County Registrar.

"Oakley said she would not hold a special election unless ordered to do so by a judge. The special election will cost Yolo County about $300,000 at time when cash and resources are especially tight. Statewide, local governments will shell out about $70 million."

She is the poster child for the liberal cause. I won't carry out my constitutional duties unless I get an order from a judge? I would like to see the org chart for the county registrar to see just when it was placed under the judicial branch of government. Why does she think she gets to choose who to obey?

"I'll defy this governor," she added, "but I don't know if I could defy a Superior Court judge."

Mrs. Oakley must have her eyes on a bigger office than County Registrar, that's fine by me, she should run for any office she would like, unless a Republican is the new County Registrar, that person may not put democrats on the ballot unless ordered by George W Bush. Her and her husband's thoughts about the HAVA funds are laughable. She mentions Kevin Shelley concern over the Diebold machines. Maybe the Oakleys should have been looking into the use of HAVA funds for Democratic Party uses. (allegedly)

If the machines are misused, they assert, it can only be because of malign interference. Well, it seems to us that in these perilous times times malign interference is a very real threat. California's secretary of state, Kevin Shelley, apparently shares our concerns

Just a thought Mrs. Oakley, keep your personal politics away from your paid duties.

And now a word from the dog.

I would like to thank my owner for the opportunity to guest blog for him. To protect my identity, I will call myself Jake, the wonder dog. I am a 63 year old black Labrador retriever. That's 9 years old to you humans.

Some of you only know the Yolo Cowboy through his rants and writings on The Roughstock Journal. I would like to shed some light on his personal life from someone who knows him well.

First of all, he is forgetful. I cannot tell you the times I have sat on the porch with my stomach growling because he forgot to feed me that night. Some who look at me could not tell that I have missed meals, but I have. He is also obsessive - compulsive. I put my snout on his arm, he moves it off, I put it back he, he takes it off. I don't understand this behavior, this is how I share my feelings and he doesn't think my drooling snout should be anywhere near him. He is also lazy. Lazy big time, when I want to hunt gophers, he wants to sit inside and blog or watch the news.

Dad, as I call him, does not see the benefit of my gopher hunting, especially in the front yard. I try to remind him that our soil is heavy and has quite a bit of clay in it, a good dose of aeration would do it some good. He may be good with horses, but the boy just don't understand proper lawn care. I have heard him mention that I was supposed to hunt pheasants, ducks and geese. I have tried these activities and have concluded that gunfire, cold weather and getting up at 4:30 am is not something I wish to do. Walking from the porch to the front yard to catch a gopher, now that's hunting.

Dad's other pets that actually live inside the house, the Jack Russell Terrier, who, pardon my language, is a pain the butt, and the Cat. The Cat's name escapes me right now but she is a strange creature to be sure. I don't see her much, she has the idea that I want to chase her and she runs by me on the porch to escape to the great outdoors. I could care less. Cats, for the lack of a better word, suck.

The terrier, Lexi, is like a tick that burrows under your skin just under the collar. She seems to be the Princess of the house. She sleeps on the bed or in the clothes basket while I sleep in my molded plastic doggie-igloo. Lexi gets all the good table scraps, and most of the attention. When she helps me execute a pincer movement against the dreaded gopher hordes, I get yelled at, she gets a bath and goes back in the house. There is no justice in this world. Small dogs, for the lack of a better word, suck also.

I would like to close on this note. The Yolo Cowboy gets a pet satisfaction rating of 7 1/2.
He is ok by me. Ooh, gotta go, I think I smell a gopher in yard.
Thanks for time, Jake

How big is your world?

We had a guest speaker at church this morning from Larry Martin VP of Education at International Justice Mission. Mr. Martin started his comments with a reference to our world and how big it is. He said that when he gets up in the morning he is concerned about himself. He goes on to say, on a good day he concerns himself with his family, and on a very good day he might concern himself with people he knows and people he likes or people who like him. That was said tongue in cheek, but he also reminded us that world view is all too common in our country, our community and our church.

How many days do I wake up and think only of myself? Even when I think about my family, I find myself thinking about how their situation effects me, not what may be best for them. You could sum this type of myopic view of your surroundings as selfish and I don't think that would be too far from the truth. Being selfless is not something we value so highly as a society anymore. Sure we say 'good for you' when we read about someone doing great work for their community or cause, but we don't take the time to reflect on what we can do. More importantly, we seldom think that there is anything we should do.

Today, as I look forward to summer and all the distractions that come with it, I want to find places where I can make a difference. It may be finding a youth group that needs help one night a week, or a senior center where I can volunteer. If I can enlarge my world from the guy in the mirror to my family and then my community, maybe one day I can look out on the world with a new view.

A selfless view.

Cinderella Man, four stars.

I had the chance today to watch Cinderella Man. Even if Russell Crowe threw a phone booth at an hotel employee, it does not detract from the wonderful story of James Braddock. When I hear people talk about twenty percent of children go to bed hungry in America, I have to ask if they really want to say that children are starving in our country. This film depicts the depression in a very real way, through the eyes of one family who seemed to have a good life going for them and had it all evaporate in two years.

Braddock did not turn to a life of crime, he did not protest and smash windows or burn cars, he kept on working. He had to swallow his pride and ask for charity from his friends and former boxing associates and sign up for Relief to keep the lights and heat turned on. What an incredible story, it almost makes me ashamed to complain about any apparent wrong I suffer or bad break I endure.

How lucky we are.

Anti-American Boutique, going out of business, everything must go!

Victor David Hanson's piece on the emergence of China as a world power that will soon make other countries long for the days of American running dog capitalist friendship.

Those who now malign the imperfections of the United States may well in shock whimper back, asking for our friendship. Then the boutique practice of anti-Americanism among the global elite will come to an end.

VDH is by far one of my favorite writers.

Things a guy should know how to do. Part one

From time to time I think about things. I know that is a dangerous proposition for a guy with little higher learning, but in any case, I was reading something today that made me think about what we know how to do. In a functional way, what can we do as average people living in America today?

I am sure that any list put together must be geographically unique, it make sense that a 40 year old man that lives in Waverly, Iowa must have a different skill set that a 40 year old man from Manhattan. I will only speak for men in this post since I am one.

So here is my first list of "Things a man should know how to do to in America".

1. Shoot a rifle with competence.
2. Know basic first-aid and CPR.
3. Start a fire without matches.
4. Read
5. Drive a car with a manual transmission.
6. Defend yourself.
7. Swim.
8. Jump start a car.
9. Sew.
10. Cook.

I know that these skills seem very rural and low-tech for some of you, but keep this in mind, if the lights ever go out for a year, or you get run off a snow covered road, down an embankment and are stuck there for a week. Or find yourself in a desperate situation, these kinds of things can save your life.

I will head you off at the pass with #9.
Sewing up a wound or repairing a sail could be the difference between living and assuming room temperature.

Feel free to add yours to the list.
I will have other list to follow, including top ten thing you should know how to do with - women, (get your mind out of the gutter Moos), in the City, when dealing with dishonest people and others as they come to mind.

Germany denied a seat on the UN security council, but there is this.....

Looks like Germany will not get it's seat at the UN's security council, but I have good news. No I didn't save a bunch of money on my car insurance, Germany will set up drive-in wooden sex garages for the world cup soccer matches next year. A estimated 40,000 prostitutes will flock to Germany for the world cup.

That is one way to combat double digit un-employment.

Go away, before we taunt you again!

Where did this lady come from? In the era of peace love and understanding in the EU, Miche'le Alliot-Marie wants to spend the money it takes to build up the EU military to the levels of the US. While I do believe that it is absolutely necessary to have an effective military force to defend your national interests at home and abroad, the socialist welfare state that exists in most of the EU cannot survive if military spending triples. One must be strong and the other weakened, or both will be weak and ineffective. The socialist welfare in the EU is failing in it's current structure, while it's military force is rather anemic.

She did make one statement that made me laugh.

We are currently at the same technological level as the United States - if we want to stay there, we have to do a lot more," Alliot-Marie said. "That is the price for being not just an economic power, but a political power.

I hope she is not referring to the state of military technology. I want to see the French stealth fighter-bomber.

I say go for it. Build up your military force to a level where the US can re-deploy its forces to other places, say the Middle East or the Pacific rim.

Dean is crazy, but remember, hardmoney fund raising is only part of the picture.

As I giggle at Howard Dean's spiral into another dimension of lunacy, I am wondering out loud if he maybe crazy like a fox? Could this Republican bashing that seems to be hurting the DNC's fundraising among center left democrats, be aimed at another group? George Sorros and the other billionaires that eat up this hate-speech up could be the real target. In fact a few large 527 donors could easily surpass what the DNC raises in hard money. Could he be whipping the far left's deep pockets into action? Could be.

I don't think this strategy would pay off for the DNC. The problem is money doesn't vote, people vote. While your fundraising chests may be full, if your party's message is way outside the political mainstream, you will not get the swing vote in America. With roughly 10% of Americans that are truly swing voters, I don't think that calling Republican evil will win may converts.

al-Qaida in my backyard?

Lodi, a hotbed for Islamic terrorist? Sounds like it.

One of the men arrested, 22-year-old Hamid Hayat, is accused in a federal criminal complaint of training in an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan to learn "how to kill Americans" and then lying to FBI agents about it.

His purported training included explosives and weapons instruction and using photographs of President Bush as targets, court documents indicate.

As most of the attention focuses on the 22 year old suspect, Hamid Hayat, I want to look closer at the other two men arrested, or at least one of them. It seems like one of the men arrested is an imam at the Lodi mosque. Muhammed Adil Khan may have been under the FBI's nose for quite some time.

The meeting started off with a recitation from the Koran by Imam Adil from Lodi and an English translation by Imam Luqman of Sacramento. CAIR-Sacramento Valley Executive Director Basim ElKarra conducted the proceedings

I have two predictions to make. We will be attacked by these sleeper cells here in the U.S. soon. When that happens, the left will go into super-spin mode to ban all semi auto guns in the US. If one of the terrorists starts shooting up a pizza parlor with a legal, semi-automatic firearm, the next day, the MSM will run stories on how easy it is to acquire these terrible weapons. It will be an all out assault on our second amendment rights for the illusion of safety.

I hope I am wrong on both predictions.

Schroeder to Chirac, don't let the people vote stupid.

As the EU constitution goes back to Brussels for a re-write, the French and German press are slamming Tony Blair. Makes you want to go hmmmm.

Newspapers in Paris and Berlin said Prime Minister Tony Blair had undermined the French and German leaders by ignoring their appeals to move ahead with the referendum despite its rejection by French and Dutch voters in the last week.

I thought that all parties had to ratify the constitution for it to become the law of the land? How does Blair's reschedule of the referendum on the EUC undermine the French and German leaders?

I love how Germany handled the EUC vote, parliament voted on it's ratification, not the people. You just have to love socialism.

Everything is ok. That's a good little peasant, now shut up and eat your gruel!

An American in Paris

Priscilla Laliss is an American living in Paris or was in November 2004. Here is her story.

Ah, I can still feel it now. It was 1999 and I'd just arrived in Paris. Bill Clinton was President of the United States and France and the U.S. were still best friends. When I spoke with my American accent people asked me if I were British. I'd get annoyed and say No, I'm American! I meant no offence toward the British. I was just proud of my American heritage.

For almost two years I've been walking around Paris hoping no one would ask me if I'm American - half praying that they'd think I'm British again. I'm no longer wearing my Old Navy tee-shirt on American holidays. I've delicately put my flags in a safe place, and I tell my husband to speak to me only in French when we're out in public. I've taken these drastic measures not because I'm ashamed of being an American, but rather because I can't explain to French people why Americans went to Iraq, why President Bush might even get re-elected, or why the price of oil is more important than the price of a baguette.

I am shocked that Mrs.Laliss did tell the Parisians that you would still be living under the Third Riche, or eventually Soviet communism if it wasn't for the United States. I don't know where her lack of history comes from, but she must be a product of our public schools. As for her assertion that it was all about the price of oil, that's laughable, have you seen the price of crude oil? For more on that check out a post from last year.

As for why we went Iraq, the WMD intelligence was wrong. Not only the US, but 30 other countries though Saddam had a working WMD program. Two of those countries were his Arab neighbors. We were wrong, but we are there now, and no amount of hand wringing and protests will change that. We must win, if the President looses this war, we die, yes that includes you in the blue states. Now how about quit your complaining and help us win.

Another brilliant solution to a non-existent problem.

My father learned to read. He rode a horse to school and once took his pet bobcat to class and it slept by his feet as he did his school work. That was in the 1920s and early 30s. It seems that children did just fine leaning to read by phonetically sounding out words until they became proficient. But then came the 60s and 70s. Everything that was old and boring was out and could be replaced by something 'new and improved'. A story from the UK.

A seven-year study showed that pupils at schools that taught intensive phonics instead of the official method were an average three and a half years ahead for their age in reading and one year and eight months ahead in spelling by the age of 11.

Children from disadvantaged homes did as well as those from richer backgrounds and, far from falling behind girls, the boys were 11 months ahead in reading at the age of 11 and 8.6 months ahead of them in spelling.

Not only do they have a generation of children who are far behind in reading and all the problems that comes with their struggles in other subjects, the liberal spent hundreds of millions of dollars to screw these kids up.

If it aint broke, break it, then get the rich to pay for it. Then when it doesn't work right, get the rich to pay for it to be returned to it's original condition.

The beacon of the liberal left is getting dimmer every year.

How many times have you debated a friend on the left who points to Europe as the model of what the US should strive to become?

What part of double digit un-employment, sky high taxes, and low productivity that leads to protectionism and to a future where their children cannot compete, is so appealing? Even the Times has taken off the blinders at least for today.

Their population is decreasing. That is bad. Why? When you have 1/3 of the population soon to be over 65 years of age, in a welfare state where the number of productive tax paying workers is actually shrinking, that is a recipe for disaster or revolution. I actually think that in ten or twenty years the young people of Europe may actually look towards communism as a viable alternative to the failed socialism they have grown up with.

Besides, Che Guevera t-shirts are great for picking up chicks.

My dream job, (snif) gone before my eyes.

I wonder if this will make it into Hugh's revised version of 'BLOG'?

100k a year for Bo, Luke and Daisy Duke.

Class of 2005, a word or two if I may.

This morning I was driving back from a meeting listening to Eric Hogue on KTKZ. At one point in his show he was making a reference to the Roseville High graduating class speakers and who they would be quoting in their remarks. I believe some of the 'historical figures' that will be quoted include Cinderella, Pocahontas, Jimminy Cricket and another that slip my mind.

He asked for any words of wisdom for these high school students ready to be set loose on the world. I called in with a quote from my father, who in his own rural wisdom said.

"When someone says you have great potential, its another way of saying you haven't done squat"

So graduates, take heed from this piece of useful advice. Right now on a couch somewhere in their parents basement sits a 31 year guy eating a bag of doritos and blogging about how he could have done a better job directing 'Revenge of the Sith'. He has been to about four junior colleges, trying to 'find himself', attended three weeks of ITT Tech but just couldn't get with all that programming stuff. Now he sits in front of his computer trying to find someone to dazzle with his keen intellect. Do you get the picture?

That kid, when he graduated from high school, had a lot of potential.

Go out and do something, even if you fail.
Like Nike says, just do it.

The Bear Flag League

By the power vested in me by the people at the Bear Flag League, I now pronounce myself - almost, a little, somewhat, kinda important.

Thanks to the Folks at BFL for giving me a chance to tell you what is going on my little corner of the world, namely Yolo County.

Thanks again BFL, I will try not shame the reputation of your fine organization, at least not for a while.

The tale of two stories, and two photos.

Isn't it curious that when the Australian news paper writes a story about the 'validity' of the charges against David Hick, the terrorist from down under, they show a photo of good ol' boy David, in a t-shirt looking like he is waiting for the pizza guy to show up.

When I googled for another story about nice guy David, I found this story and photo.

I hope he isn't waiting for the pizza guy in photo number 2.

Fresh hot pizza in 30 minutes or you can kill the driver with an RPG.

Couric vs. Sawyer a morning slugfest?

And now for something completely different.

A battle for the hearts and what is left of the minds of people who watch network morning news shows.

Lebanon, releases Democracy 2.1, updates needed

Before we pitch out the baby with the bath water, lets remember our own history. The United States came dangerously close to falling to pieces a few dozen times, and then we had to fight a Civil War, come to grips with racial segregation and give women the right to vote. Those are just the highlights of the low lights. We still have a lot of work to do.

Lets give the Lebanese people a chance to make the best of their new found freedom.

I can't wait for my wife to get home so I can tell her I love her.

I was over at Mark D Roberts and found a link to this post written by a husband, a memorial to his wife. Very powerful.

The Brits may finally have had enough

This story caught my attention from the Daily Telegraph (free registration) in London. It seems that California is not the only government who can't seem to get the money from the tax payer to the classroom.

Unfortunately, state schools cannot afford to provide a decent education, since so much of that money never gets to them. It is dissipated in the panoply of penpushers in central or local bureaucracy, schools inspectors and consultants, all anxious to help, and all getting in the way of the employee at the chalkface. Add that to the classroom impotence against pupils whose only knowledge is of their human rights, and it's a miracle there are any teachers left.

I seem to recall a quote by President Lincoln, he said that sending troops to the front line is like shovelling fleas across the barnyard, only half of them get there.

Why do we have the State department of education, the County office of education, the school districts and finally the school? It is no wonder where they money gets siphened off to.

Why all the layers of bureaucracy? I have worked with many County Offices of Ed, Districts and individual Schools in my business. In the IT field, there are many schools where the COE handles the entire network, the school is so small the cannot afford an IT person. Some Districts have their own Network Administrators, and some schools have an on-site Network Admin staff. I have seen districts where the turf wars over the network is very heated.

I have seen a huge amount of waste in the IT field. Some schools have network infrastructure that most small and mid-sized businesses would love to have. Other small districts and schools are living with technology held together with baling wire and bubble gum. I can't tell you how many times I have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on network infrastructure so the teachers can get email and surf the web. Especially in elementary and middle schools. Some schools do a phenomenal job using technology, most do not.

One of the places where technology was being used in an elementary school ,was in a small farm community in the central valley. The school had used grants and federal dollars to build a solid network, but it was the principal and his leadership that drove the use of technology on that campus. The school was in a very poor part of the State, most of the students were children of farm workers, but they learned computer skills and english. Not because someone from the outside made them do it, not from the teachers union, it came from the drive and vision of a staff where the kids came first.

Someone once told me that if you find problems in a huge place because you know something about a certain subject, just imagine how many other problems there are.

Why is the title of 'moderate' such a prize to politicians?

As the MSM shifted into overdrive to praise the 14 Senators who 'saved' the Senate from the evil of majority rule on judicial nominees, one has to ask why do politicians love to be labeled as moderate? It must get you invited on more talk shows, to better cocktail parties and you must get a better table at Tosca's in D.C.

What is wrong with being partisan? I am a conservative Republican. I used to be a moderate Democrat. The difference between the two, as far as I can tell, is that a moderate Democrat wants to get along with everyone and will compromise his principals to do so. The same with moderate Republicans. What is wrong with saying what you believe and voting with the same convictions?

I know that I am over-simplifying this to the extreme. D.C is D.C. and to get your bill passed, you must hold your nose and vote for their bill, I get it. But spending a little more pork on the Robert Byrd memorial center for the study of pop-tarts in West Virginia is different than voting against your party on judicial nominees. You remember your party right? Those extremist who gave you the money to win that seat in which you sit? The folks who wrote those first checks to help you get elected. Yea, those people. I am sure that if you would have told them when the time comes, that you would not support an up or down vote on Circuit Court nominees, you may have had a different outcome in your election.

Please list the great moderates of our time.

Neville Chamberlain? Peace in our time? Sure ask the Poles.

Jimmy Carter? "Khomeini is a man of faith, a believer, we'll get on fine together".

George Bush 41? No new taxes, ok but you promise to cut spending.

Hard to find these most elusive creatures, isn't it?

I wonder what those cops are doing up there? Oh crap, hide the dope!

Oliver Stone was arrested for suspicion of DUI and drug possession Friday night. That makes two times for the drunken doper director.

I am sure that the DUI checkpoint was un-constitutional and was set up by the Bush administration to stop him from making his next movie.

Maybe some of that brilliant intellect and in-depth research could have been used my Mr. Stone to find this.

As Captain Kirk once said "Double dumb ass on you"

My prediction.

I predict this type of City ordinance will be brought up in 2005 with our trend setting neighbors in San Francisco.

Manfred Juraczka, a councillor in a Vienna district, said he wanted the city to register all dogs' DNA so that droppings left where people walk could be tested and the owner of the guilty dog punished, Associated Press reports.

It makes perfect sense for the city by the bay. More city workers, taking samples and doing DNA tests, cross-checking them against the city's database of registered dogs(and cats?) then issuing fines to support the expense of the testing. It would be the perfect storm of bureaucracy gone wild. The pet license fees would have to be increased to help with the costs, but hey folks, it's all in the effort to clean up our city! I know, how about doing this to the homeless that defecate in the doorways of businesses. If they are picked up for vagrancy, they submit to a DNA test to build a database and when a business owner discovers bum droppings in his doorway, he can call the city to find out who the perpetrator is? That I would pay for.

What about 'out of town dogs' leaving poop in golden gate park? Call in the Feds, they may have crossed state line to commit this horrible offense.

Could this be a new series for CBS?
CSI- gone to the dogs- San Francisco.

Who ever votes against this bill should be voted out of office.

Henry Hyde (R) Illinois, has introduced a bill that ties US funding for the Un to real reforms. Reforms such as not letting the worst human rights offenders sit on the human rights council.
Representative Hyde must be a reader of my blog. ( one could only hope )

Truthfully, who could vote against this? Only someone who believes like Amnesty International that the US is running a gulag in Guantanamo Bay.

Like a preacher on a bridge.

I think the line was by George Gobal, "I feel like the world is a tuxedo and I am a pair of brown shoes."

I had the privilege to officiate the wedding of my best friend and his lovely bride this past weekend. It took place on a small bridge over the creek on the most beautiful day we have had in while. I thought it may have been much warmer than it turned out to be, so I made the ceremony short, about 10 minutes total. When we were done, pictures taken and made it back to the Grange hall for the reception, I was met by many of my friends. I was a bit taken back by the reception I received. Most of the people congratulated me on the ceremony, but didn't know I was a Christian.

Most folks around these parts who know me, know I don't drink much, and try not to curse, but I feel I have not done a good job evangelizing to them. Most of my friends are good people. The kind of friends you could call at 3:00 am and ask them to drive 100 miles to pick you up if you had become stranded. However I can't think of one that attend church any regular basis. That may be partly because our local churches are very small and seem to be attended by mostly seniors. I don't know how welcome they would feel there.

I came from a great church in Granite Bay, near Sacramento, called Bayside Church. I was there when we held services at the high school gym. Recently, Bayside built a new church and is growing at a phenomenal rate. The differences in the local Presbyterian church and Bayside are night and day. The outreach ministries at Bayside are very dynamic, they have a ministry for almost everyone. The local church is limited by funding and the lack volunteers. I would like to see more of my friends and neighbors go to church, not because they should, but because they want to. I am not sure how to accomplish that goal or if it my place to try.

I still question if my friends would go to Bayside if were five minutes from their houses. The old adage of leading a horse to water comes to mind. It may be enough for me to share my story and my faith. For people who never think of God or that he might have a purpose for them on this earth, just getting them to think about God would be a good start.

My friend told me today that his grand daughter asked him if I was like a preacher in a church, he said no. He is like a preacher on a bridge.

The Lord does indeed move in mysterious ways.

RINOs win,

I will wait and see how this plays out, maybe the President can nominate for Supreme Court one of his confirmed circuit Judges without a filibuster from the dems.
Wait and see.

Just when I was getting back to the happy nice guy I usually am.

Driving home today I listened to Hugh talk about Indra Nooyi, the President and C.O.O of Pepsi Co, and her remarks given at a commencement speech at Columbia University. I was stunned.

"This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, The United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg-up in global business since the end of World War I. However, if used inappropriately – just like the U.S. itself - the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I’m talking about. In fact, I suspect you’re hoping that I’ll demonstrate what I mean. And trust me, I’m not looking for volunteers to model. Discretion being the better part of valor...I think I’ll pass. What is most crucial to my analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents, is that each of us in the U.S. – the long middle finger – must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand...not the finger. Sometimes this is very difficult. Because the U.S. – the middle finger – sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally. Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S. right now. Not as part of the hand – giving strength and purpose to the rest of the fingers – but, instead, scratching our nose and sending a far different signal."

She makes in excess of 8 million dollars a year. 8 Million dollars buys lots of things, it should also preclude you from making stupid political comments. What is she thinking? She works for Pepsi Cola, the 5th largest food and beverage company in the world. You know who buys a lot of their product? Americans. The middle finger of the world.

On Pepsi's worldwide code of conduct statement is says " There's only one way to hold together a company so big and diverse - through trust, shared values, common goals and consistent standards of conduct "

Seems to me that Indra Nooyi doesn't trust, or share the same values as the nation that allows her to prosper under it's freedom and protection.

That's a shame, I like Pepsi, my father-in-law is a retired route driver for Frito-Lay, a Pepsi Co subsidiary. I know there are literally thousands of hard working, dedicated employees who work for Pepsi. I don't want to effect them in a negative way, however I am not buying any of their products until Ms. Nooyi is either fired or goes on Good Morning America and begs forgiveness. I think her non-apology is a hastily written statement by the Pepsi lawyers.

Unfortunately, my remarks at Columbia University were misconstrued and depicted in a different context as unpatriotic. Although nothing could be further from the truth, I regret any confusion or concern that I may have inadvertently created. As I shared with the audience at Columbia, this country that I am proud and honored to call home is a “promised land” that I love dearly. I would never say or do anything to detract from our great nation and its people who have done so much for so many, including myself.

Misconstrued? Not Hardly. That Ms, Nooyi is a load of Bravo Sierra.

Give the guys in Gitmo a camera.

When I first heard of the Newsweek story of the alleged abuse of Muslim prisoners in Guantanimo Bay, I thought if it was true, what's was the big deal? I understand that to a Muslim the Koran is a much deeper symbol of his religion than my Bible is to me. It is said to be the actual word for word translation of God's message to the prophet Muhammad.

Ok, fine by me. I only have one question, when these same Muslims drive a carbomb into a Mosque that happens to belong to a different sect of Muslims, I bet they blow a couple dozen Korans into pieces. Where is the outrage in the Arab street at this?

If you gave the interrogators at Gitmo a digital camera and had them take a picture of a Koran being urinated on, they could apply for a National Endowment of the Arts grant.

Oh, wait, the NEA only pays for jewish or Christian symbols to be denigrated.

Digital Music, the bane of my existence.

For some one who spent more days in the saddle than in front of a keyboard, I consider myself to be somewhat tech savvy. I bought a mp3 player two years ago and had fun burning my CDs to mp3 files and listening to my player. I love to walk or workout with my mp3 player, it doesn't skip and holds more than 30 songs.

Now, on to the terror that is downloading music files. I still buy CDs, call me crazy, people that make music that I like should be able to sell their product for profit. It's called capitalism, it works. When the Napster craze hit the college campus' in the late 90s people were filling entire servers with music files without paying a cent. Like I always say, 'everyone likes a pig, but hog needs to be slaughtered'.

I am officiating the wedding ceremony of my friends this weekend and they asked me if I could get a song for the reception. I said I would and I did. I looked for the song and found it on Buy.com.

OK, now what? First you have to create an account, log in, pick the song, buy it with a credit card, try to download it, switch to IE Explorer, try to download again, successfully download it, try to open it, register it with the 'digital music police' open it as a WMA file, try to figure out how to convert it to a WAV file, download some free software that says it can convert WMA files to WAV files, open the software, click on the song and tell it convert it, then have it tell me the file is actually a WMAis file and it is an unsupported file type.

Luckily I was not anywhere near a firearm or a good piece of hardwood or I would be shopping for a new laptop right now.

So for the past two hours or so I have spent exactly 99 cents for a song that can only play on my laptop, downloaded software that probably has spyware in it and have wasted a good portion of my evening.

We had set a dealine of today to get all the music together.

I love deadlines, I like the whooshing sound they make as they go by.

News weak, thanks for the riot.

I have never been a reader of Newsweek. Except in the waiting room of a doctor or dentist. I will never buy a copy on the news stand, ever. If I had a copy of Newsweek, I would flush it down the toilet.
I will send them my best wishes for a speedy demise. Email Newsweek.

The lessons we don't want to remember.

I was reading a piece by Victor David Hanson on the revisionist history being taught in our schools and around the world today. It as a great example of how our schools are failing. Young people don't understand the sacrifice made by their grandfathers to make the world a better place.


Revisionism holds a strange attraction for the winners of World War II. American textbooks discuss World War II as if a Patton, Le May, or Nimitz did not exist, as if the war was essentially the Japanese internment and Hiroshima. That blinkered and politically correct focus explains why so many Americans under 30 are simply ignorant about the nature and course of World War II itself.

This month is critical, and I'll tell you why.

As John Bolton's nomination as US ambassador to the UN goes to the floor of the Senate for and up or down vote, I am not sure that many people realize how crucial the next few weeks will be. I always look at how the opposition is acting to judge how important an issue is to them. The Senate democrats have been in hyper active, hammer down, full speed obstruction over the issues of Bolton and judicial nominees. Why? The easy answer is they don't like republicans and they want to thwart their agenda whenever possible, but that it not the whole story.

Republican victories in the past two presidential elections as well as control in both houses of the legislature have given the democrats only a few places where they have influence and power. First is the judiciary. Liberal activism is the only stop-gap measure left to get around the will of the American people. Let’s say a state wants to keep marriage between a man and a woman, they hold an election where the referendum passes two to one and the people of that state think that's the end of it. Wrong. Somewhere in a courtroom high atop a shining building sits a judge that thinks that gay marriage is a right and is sure that if the founding fathers would have thought about just a little longer, they would have put gay marriage in the Constitution.

Their bad. The judge says, I will fix it. The pledge of allegiance has 'under God' in it? That is un-constitutional. Never mind that Senator Robert Byrd can drone on while reading the book of Esther in the King James Bible on the floor of the Senate.

The only other place where the Liberal Democrats seek to retain power is in world opinion. Namely the United Nations, the World Bank and the EU. The next few weeks could be the beginning of the end for what is left of the Democratic power structure. If the Oil for Food scandal indicts Kofi and he gets the boot, or a nice warm cell somewhere, John Bolton will have good campaigning weather to change the UN from a do-nothing waste of US taxpayer money to a world body that can effectively become a force for good on the planet.

Bill Frist has just thrown down the gauntlet. As soon as the Highway bill gets off the floor, the judicial nominees will be next on the Senate's agenda. If the republicans can hold together for the next few weeks, enough to return the Senate back to its history on judicial nominees and confirm Bolton nomination, it could be one of the most important months in this decade.

Diana Griego Erwin resigns from the Sacramento Bee

I must admit that I was astonished to read this morning that DGE resigned from her Metro section column. The Bee's executive editor Rick Rodriguez said that the papers' own internal investigation found many people DGE identified in her stories did not exist.

'During our inquiry we found we could not authenticate the existence of several people even though they were identified by name, age and sometimes by the neighborhoods in which they were reported to have lived. We used extensive online database searches as well as old-fashioned shoe-leather work in our investigation over the past 2 1/2 weeks.'

Sounds like nothing can get in the way of a good liberal story. DGE was one of the Bee's most liberal columnists.
"I did nothing wrong, but could not fully prove that to The Bee. My gratitude also to the thousands of people who let me into their lives. I loved telling your stories."

Yea, people love to tell stories Diana, except when the people you write about don't exist, they call it fiction.

Hats off to Rick Rodriguez for throwing out the trash.

Jimmy Carter and Ayatollah Khomeini were pals?

A story that I came across in french news. Does Jimmy Carter have any shame?

Then Presidents Giscard d'Estaing and Jimmy Carter got together and decided it would be a good idea to replace the Shah of Iran with the Ayatollah Khomeini, who was then lurking in exile in Paris. He vividly remembers Carter saying: "Khomeini is a man of faith, a believer, we'll get on fine together".

Way to go James.

Those darn auto-mobile things will never catch on.

So thought the buggy and carriage makers at the turn of the century. I have a few meadowbrook carts and a horse drawn wagon, you know what, it is hard to find anyone to work on them. The reason? They are obsolete. For the folks who use buggies and wagon for pleasure shows or to haul tourists about town, a good wheel-wright is hard to find.

Today's print media must look down the tracks and see if there is a tunnel through the mountain before they can start looking for the light at the end. The New York Times is searching for ways to stay relevant in the land between the north east elites and the west coast Hollywood liberals. This task is not just important, is a life or death struggle. The MSM has been showing all the signs of a fatal disease for years now, but if your a smoker with lung cancer, hanging around other smokers that are coughing up black tar and saying they feel fine is not going to make you seek treatment. What the Times needs to do is get a MRI and a full body scan to find out how sick they are. The Times panel solution to it's ills are like going back down to the smoke filled bar and asking one of your friends, how do I look? Limiting anonymous sources? That is the snow that is sitting on top of the tip of the iceberg.

I live in the country, I have for almost all of my life, I have visited New York City and had a great time. My Son and I loved it, we went to a Yankees game and sat in the 6th row. We navigated the subway with relative ease, and did most of the tourist things. Most of the people were great, and I enjoyed the flavor and diversity of all the different cultures. Does this make me qualified to be the City Editor for the Times? Not hardly. The differences go much further than geography and time spent in the region. One of the qualifications to be a reporter in the City is knowing the heartbeat of the city, and the hundreds of places to find its pulse. If you rarely leave Manhattan, and can't wait for the next dinner party with the important people, you will see the City in one way. However, your view will be very different from the electrician that works in the basement of a building keeping the lights on so he can go home to his family every night.

How can the Times hope to reach out to the inhabitants of fly-over country? The easy way is to find like-minded reporters from the Midwest and the South and publish more of their reports. Sounds great, more liberal bias from different parts of the nation, whoopee. Speaking for myself, I don't really care if the Times prints an article from a reporter in Davis about this or that, the story will be skewed by that reporter's political bias.

Where would I start if I were given the rudder of Times for a year? I would start by having a 'step into the light' edition. This is who we are, this is what we believe, and this what we think about these key issues. Paul Krugman needs to tell everyone that he would like nothing better that to have America become more and more Socialist. That's who I am, that's how I feel. When I write about the President and his policies, please know that this is where I am writing from.

What would I do next? Replace one quarter of the reporters and editors with middle-right conservatives. Why on earth would I do that? To better reflect the views of the nation. The day their first column hits the page, they must do a 'step into the light' piece. Now I know who is telling me their opinion, and I can decide if they have another agenda. Diversity, it is something that the Times loves to report about, but not something they practice. A good coffeepot-throwing screaming match at the editorial meetings would be the best sign that they are making progress. Diversity of opinion is a great thing.

Will the Times change? Nope. They will put a new tie on the pig and haul it out to fair for all to see, but its the same old pig. The will slowly suffocate under the weight of their bias and traditions.

In the words of Agent Smith " Do you hear that sound? That is the sound of inevitability"

Why don't we celebrate V.E. Day anymore?

I have heard the statistic that everyday 1,500 veterans of WWII die. The recently celebrated 'Greatest Generation' is fast becoming just ink on history book pages and fading images in old photographs. That is a shame.

I am sure that my grandchildren will ask me if I knew anyone who fought in WWII and will tell them about my Great uncle and my step grandfather who fought in the Pacific. I never knew my great uncle, his submarine was sunk in the Pacific, and my step grand father Manuel did not like to talk about the war.

My father was born in 1915 and could not serve in the armed forces because he ruptured his eardrum as a young man and no service would take him. He spent a good deal of the war at Mare Island Naval Base building PT Boats. He would get sad when he talked about that time because of the friends and ball players he knew that never made it back home.

I did the math one day and if a young man of 18 fought in the Civil War in 1865, he would have been 78 years old when my father was 10. It would have been fascinating to hear from someone who talked to an actual soldier from the Civil War. That is what I think of when I take my son with me to my friend's ranch and talk with his grandfather. Barney is in his 80s and was in the Navy before Pearl Harbor and stayed in through Korea. I enjoy talking with him about his life.

If you have WWII veterans in your family, talk to them and listen to their stories, even if you have heard them before. Even if they are cranky and bitter, they will be gone soon and those memories can never be replaced.

What ever happened to the geek from the audio/video room at High School?

Found Him.

Muscle Cars, just another thing I cannot afford right now.

This is a picture of my brother-in-laws 67? Camaro. It is his new baby. If he didn't live a thousand miles away I would ask to drive it. I think I would need a home equity loan to fill it up with 94 octane.

At 5 miles a gallon, it is not a daily driver, but when you can break the tires loose at 60 mph, who cares!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Beekeeper cracks me up, yet again.

It reminds me of a story my buddy Dan tells about a guy he worked with a few years ago. This guy was Hispanic, a few generation removed from the home country. Dan asked if he had anything planned for Cinco de mayo. The guy said not really, he was just not that into it. He then added "but we sure whooped your ass back then".

My friend Dan replied " Are you under the impression that Mexico defeated America for it's independence?"

"Isn't that what Cinco de Mayo is?"the friend asked

Classic, just classic.

I bet that if you asked 100 twenty year old kids working at Blockbuster who we fought in the Revolutionary War you might get 11 or 12 that would answer correctly.

I guess I'll put down these stones now, I see some streaks in my glass house.......

Everything must go at crazy Pierre's! .......almost.

Looking at France is like getting into a time-machine. This is where the left in America want us to be as soon as possible. No Wal-Mart, no big-box stores, only mom and pop shops protected from competition from the courts.

I run a small business, two in fact, there is nothing better that finding a small business with knowledgeable staff and fair prices. I am not asking them to compete dollar for dollar with Wal-Mart and Home Depot, I just don't to pay double for my purchases.

Having a court tell Wal-Mart that they can't sell a box of Rice Crispies for less than 5% off retail is insane.

What did you do in school today? We made protest signs.

I was commenting on another blog and came across this example of the curriculum used in 8th grade in 1895. As Slim Pickins used to say "what in the wide, wide world of sports in a goin on here?"
I doubt if the average Freshman college student could complete this 8th grade final exam.

When are we going to realize that culture, activism, art and personal growth instruction are the function of the parents, not the schools? If you are passing all of you real courses, then you may take an elective, art or band or poetry. The liberals that control the teachers unions and the 'teach to the whole student' crowd are not helping our kids to compete for the jobs that America needs to remain a leader in science and technology. You remember science and technology right? That is where we could find an alternative to foreign oil and cure AIDS and cancer, you know, the kind of important stuff.

Let me, the parent, decide what cultural instruction my child needs. It seems the only college most children will be ready for is a liberal arts college. They should do quite well at UC Santa Cruz. Maybe the world will start outsourcing all its sociology, and cultural studies needs to the US, that is what we will be qualified to do. We may not be able to compete for this century's technology and science breakthroughs, but we can 'feel good' with the best of them.

Separation of Mosque and State?

What is up with our secular buddies and France? The are financing Muslim studies, and the building of mosques.

After months of hesitation and negotiation, the Minister of the Interior Dominique de Villepin has announced the formation of a foundation to finance the activities of the Muslim religion. The agreement was signed by the four main tendencies, those associated with Algeria, the Frères Musulmans, the Comité de coordination des Musulmans Turcs de France. When the conseil d’état has given its blessing the foundation will come into being. It will then be possible to finance courses for the training of Immams in France. At the moment one third of those in France do not speak French. It will also be able to help finance the building of mosques. A government commissioner will sit with the foundation to monitor the projects to be financed. The aim of the government is to integrate the Muslim religion in France and to end secret financing from dubious foreign souirces.

Nothing worse than a wet dog.

Except wet hay.

For anyone suffering from a drought, I am offering my services as a rain harbinger.

I will be happy to fly to your county and find a field of hay. When my fee is met, I will call the local hay farmer to cut the hay. As soon as the swather drives off the field, the weather should change, in three days the field will receive 1/4 to 1/2'" of rain or hail if that would be more suitable for your situation.

" your results may vary"

Hey let's get drunk and go to the Casino!

Living here in western Yolo County means many things, the beauty of the Blue Ridge in the spring, bringing the family to a picnic at one of the neighbor's ranches, the 4-H spring show at the fairgrounds and trying not to be killed by the Casino traffic.

Friday night it happened again, one of the locals that lived in Capay was struck and killed by a casino patron as he walked to his house. So what you might say, people get killed all the time and this is no different. No, this is different. When I was in my twenties living here, you could set up a poker game on Highway 16 after 10:00 pm on any weeknight and not get disturbed until 4:30 or 5:00 am when the farmers and ranchers started their day. Not anymore, now it's bumper to bumper on weekends and during the week its still 24 hours a day of speeding casino players. What has changed? Ten thousand new residences built in a small farming community? Nope. I know that has happened all to often in other places, but Yolo County is very agriculture friendly and does not allow much new building at all, especially in the rural, western part of the County.

What happened is the Rumsey band of Wintun Indians built a small bingo parlor on their land. I understand it's their land and they have the right to do what they want with it. I also know that before the bingo parlor went in, there were only a handful of Indians living there. As bingo grew more popular, the traffic increased. In the 90's the tribe, flush with money, opened a large casino. Cache Creek Casino was much larger and their patrons were coming from farther away to spend their paychecks.

The Casino is about 15 miles from Interstate 505, so when you take this exit you must drive through three small towns before you can start loosing your money in Brooks. The towns of Madison, Esparto and Capay are just obstacles for these people. Think of having a casino at the far end of your street in a residential neighborhood. Do you think people will slow down because you live there, your kids are playing and this is a residential area? Nope, hammer down, I've got to play those slots!

In 2004 the tribe opened the new Cache Creek Resort Hotel and Casino. The locals were not thrilled. The promise of no alcohol at the Casino was disregarded and now we have drunken casino players speeding through the valley. The tribe has built new luxury homes for their members and the handful of Wintuns has grown to close to a hundred. The tribe, to get approval on the new resort, is giving millions of dollars to the County over the next 10 years to help mitigate some of problems that the new resort is causing. Who replaces the lives of the people killed?

I don't want to get into the Ward Churchill debate of we screwed them first and now we are getting payback. My wife is a Pottawattamie Indian. I am an avid reader of US and western history, I know what happened.

I guess what really gets me, is they are beating us at our game. They have taken capitalism and greed to its highest form. The tribe may be good business people, they are just lousy neighbors. Their new motto should be "Yea for us, sucks to be you".

I geuss I can sell out move to Montana with all the other Californians.