Oh, Hell Yeah!

Via my mom, these most excellent posters:

If Obama is Elected for a Second Term...

Via reader Simi L.:

I'll say!

Freedom of Speech...

The Obama administration has taken some actions in the past days that should raise the hackles of every American.  Unfortunately, these actions are not surprising.  Even more unfortunately, they haven't raised the hackles of every American – just a few of us nutcases who believe in the importance of free speech.

It started with the official reaction to the Benghazi murders: both Obama and Hilary Clinton, in their comments, criticized the maker of the film that allegedly sparked the events in Benghazi.  Leave aside for a moment the question of whether that assertion is accurate, and assume for the sake of this discussion that it was accurate.  The making of that film, no matter how offensive or abhorrent anyone found it, is a classic exercise of the quintessentially American right of free speech.  The entire point of that right is to allow any American citizen to express how they feel on a subject, especially when that expression offends someone else.  The administration bluntly and directly criticized an American citizen for exercising his rights as a citizen.  That most definitely raised my hackles.  Does it raise yours?

Then the administration asked YouTube to take down the film's trailers.  Google (who owns YouTube) refused.  Good for Google.  Shame, shame on the Obama administration – they are directly attempting to quash an American citizen's right to free speech.  If it's unobvious to you why this should scare you, consider this: how would you feel if an American president succeeded in getting YouTube to remove political advertisements for your party, because they were deemed offensive.  Not the same thing?  Oh, think about that very hard – because in reality those are exactly the same thing.

This morning I read that the alleged maker of the film “voluntarily” allowed himself to be questioned by federal probation officers.  The provocation was clearly the making of the film, an expression of his right to free speech as an American citizen.  The pretense was investigation of a parole violation.  It is obvious to any observer that this is official harassment, plain and simple.  The government is harassing an American citizen because he had the temerity to express himself.

Are your hackles up yet?  Yes?  Good.  Remember this, please, when you vote in November.

Just to be clear to any left-wing freakazoids who might read this piece: I do not endorse the film in question in any way, shape, or form.  I've viewed the snippets up on YouTube, and I find them quite offensive – on an artistic level.  I'm pretty sure I could do better, and I've never made a movie in my life.  With respect to the content, it's easy for me to imagine that Muslims might be offended by it – just as Christians were offended by the “art” showing a cross in urine, or the Madonna as a porn star.  It has messages (I think – the movie is so badly done that I'm not entirely sure I understand those messages) that I don't agree with.  But none of that matters.  What matters is that the maker of that movie is an American citizen, and every American citizen has the right to express his or her beliefs and feelings on any subject – even if those beliefs or feelings offend someone else.  That is one very precious right, one that Americans enjoy almost uniquely (though few Americans seem to know this).  Even Canadians have restrictions on their free speech!

Obama never had any chance of getting my vote in November.  However, if I were planning to vote for him, these recent actions would change my mind – all by themselves, they are more than enough reason to deny him a second term.  I hope there are some other Americans who feel the same way...

Rules of Engagement...

Reader and friend Larry E. writes:

Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson “did not permit U.S. Marine guards to carry live ammunition,” according to multiple reports on U.S. Marine Corps blogs spotted by Nightwatch. “She neutralized any U.S. military capability that was dedicated to preserve her life and protect the US Embassy.”
http://freebeacon.com/reports-marines-not-permitted-live-ammo/

So I guess we never learn from history. I served With Greg on Camp Pendleton before he volunteered for Marine Security Guard. He and others in his detachment were unarmed when they were gunned down in a cafe' in San Salvador.
http://www.msg-history.com/HistoricalItems/HP_SanSalvador_1985_Weber.html

Prior to that, the bombing in beruit was made possible because the Marines there were not allowed to carry live ammo.

Do not send the US military anywhere and then take away their ability to perform their duties and worse, take away their ability to defend themselves.

My son is deployed to Afghanistan. The rules of engagement give every advantage to the enemy. Can anyone explain why we are still there? The President isn't committed to it. Congress isn't committed to it. The country sure as hell isn't committed to it.

Those making these decisions and worse, those in congress shirking thier responsibilities should be in prison.

And instead of being in prison, our citizens keep re-electing them.  This does not say good things to me about my country's future.  I have one last remaining hope, which is that the events of the past four years wake up enough voters that they kick the sniveling socialist bastards out of office.  I know, I know...it is but a very slim hope...

Personally, I advocate for a Patton-style set of rules of engagement: whenever we commit our forces to be in harm's way, we should give them authority to do whatever it takes to get their job done.  There is no way to have a kind or moral war; a war is by definition what happens when those things are lost.  The only sane thing you can do is to win, and win as overwhelmingly as you possibly can...

Snotty Receptionist...

Another geezer joke from my mom:

Yesterday I had an appointment to see the urologist for a prostate exam. Of course I was a bit on edge because all my friends have either gone under the knife or had those pellets implanted...

The waiting room was filled with patients. As I approached the receptionist's desk, I noticed that the receptionist was a large, unfriendly woman who looked like a Sumo wrestler.

I gave her my name.

In a very loud voice, the receptionist said,

"YES, I HAVE YOUR NAME HERE; YOU WANT TO SEE THE DOCTOR ABOUT IMPOTENCE, RIGHT?"

All the patients in the waiting room snapped their heads around to look at me, a now very embarrassed man. But, as usual, I recovered quickly, and in an equally loud voice replied,

'NO, I'VE COME TO INQUIRE ABOUT A SEX CHANGE OPERATION, BUT...I DON'T WANT THE SAME DOCTOR THAT DID YOURS."

The room erupted in applause!

Do not mess with old retired guys...

What's in the Box?

Via my mom.  Since my 60th birthday recently, she seems to have become an endless source of geezer jokes  :-)

A little old lady went to the grocery store to buy cat food. She picked up four cans and took them to the check out counter.

The girl at the cash register said, "I'm sorry, but we cannot sell you cat food without proof that you have a cat. A lot of old people buy cat food to eat, and the management wants proof that you are buying the cat food for your cat."

The little old lady went home, picked up her cat and brought it back to the store.
They sold her the cat food.

The next day, she tried to buy two cans of dog food. Again the cashier said "I'm sorry, but we cannot sell you dog food without proof that you have a dog. A lot of old people buy dog food to eat, but the management wants proof that you are buying the dog food for your dog."

So she went home and brought in her dog. She then was able to buy the dog food.

The next day she brought in a box with a hole in the lid. The little old lady asked the cashier to stick her finger in the hole. The cashier said, "No, you might have a snake in there."

The little old lady assured her that there was nothing in the box that would harm her. So the cashier put her finger into the box and quickly pulled it out. She said to the little old lady, "That smells like sh**."

The little old lady said, "It is. I want to buy three rolls of toilet paper."

Don't mess with old people!

They Don't Know...

My dogs just don't know.  They don't know about the horrifying events in the Middle East.  They don't know about my work being crazy-busy (after returning from a week off).  They don't know about the November elections.  There's so much that they just don't know.

They do know that their morning walk with me is a joyful time, one that they anticipate with nearly as much joy as the act itself (they nearly lose their minds when they hear the sounds I make when getting ready in the morning).  The three field spaniels know that this morning it's humid (we had a small rainfall yesterday), and their noses are working even better than usual.  They snuff in all the smells of the morning, most especially the “pee-mail” left for them by other dogs and coyotes.  The border collie, as usual, knows about pine cones – which he relentlessly searches out and deposit in front of me so I can kick them, and he can chase them.

Joyous dogs.  Their joy is infectious, lifting my mood.  They do this every morning, without knowing.  They are great therapy.

The morning sky this morning was like lead crystal – black, black background with bright stars dotting it.  The Milky Way, crisp and textured, extends from the northeast horizon to the west.  Orion is high, Sirius low in the east.  Venus is also bright and low, north of Sirius, while Jupiter is overhead, close to the Pleiades.  A glorious morning for stargazing.

Sometimes I wish I didn't know some things...

Life Expectancy...

I've long known that the widely published “life expectancy” numbers are very misleading at best, and greatly understate the age the average person living today can expect to attain.  However, I had not previously seen a good explanation of why these published numbers are “wrong”...

Obama in His Own Words...

Embassy Attack...

Headlines on this morning's news are all about the killing of our Ambassador to Libya, and three others.  The news reports are contradictory, but it looks like the four died in a rocket attack on their car, as they left the U.S. Embassy – itself the target of a mob attack.  This all instantly reminded me of 1979, and the mob attack on our Embassy in Tehran, Iran – and Jimmy Carter's pathetic response.  Somehow I expect the same here.

The blogosphere is, as you might imagine, full of thoughts on these events.  The best post I read was this one from Dave Carter, the truck driver/philosopher on Ricochet.  An excerpt:

Did you get that? We condemn the people who offended these cretins,….not the cretins. Pardon me, but just what in the hell is happening to our country? Is this the inheritance purchased at Normandy? Bunker Hill? Khe Sanh? Brave men risked their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor so that an American President could grovel with this pathetic, weak-kneed, sickly, statement? What a despicable statement of historical ignorance and what an awful confession of outright cowardice!

Well said, Mr. Carter. Well said.

Don't miss the whole thing...

Cop vs. Lawyer...

Via my mom, who reminds me (as if I could forget!) that she's part Scottish:

A London lawyer runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by a Glasgow policeman.

He thinks that he is smarter than the cop because he is a lawyer from LONDON and is certain that he has a better education then any Jock. He decides to prove this to himself and have some fun at the Glasgow police's expense!!

Glasgow cop: "Licence and registration, please."

London Lawyer: "What for?"

Glasgow cop: "Ye didnae come to a complete stop at the stop sign."

London Lawyer: "I slowed down, and no one was coming."

Glasgow cop: "Ye still didnae come to a complete stop. Licence and registration, please."

London Lawyer says: "What's the difference?"

Glasgow cop: "The difference is, ye huvte come to complete stop, that's the law. Licence and registration, please!"

London Lawyer says: "If you can show me the legal difference between slow down and stop, I'll give you my licence and registration and you give me the ticket. If not, you let me go and don't give me the ticket."

Glasgow cop says: "Sounds fair. Exit your vehicle, sir."

The London Lawyer exits his vehicle.

The Glaswegian takes out his baton, and starts beating the living daylights out of the lawyer, and says, "Dae ye want me to stop, or just slow doon?"

She's part Scottish, but we don't want to know what other part is...

Gold...

A few weeks ago I posted the story of Victoria Arlen, a paralympic swimming competitor whose family is friends with Frankie T. (a colleague and friend).  In that story, we left off with Victoria slated to compete in the London paralympics.  Yesterday she took the gold medal in the 100m freestyle competition, setting a new world record in the process.  Awesome!

Here's the video of the 100m freestyle final:


And here's the award ceremony.


What a set of smiles on those competitors!

Back Home!

We got home late last night, greeted by four ecstatic dogs who fell all over themselves trying to say hello to us.  After a short night's sleep, I'm back at work again.  It will probably take a day or two for me to get my act together on the blog...

From the Road...

We're up in Sandpoint, Idaho.  This morning we're headed out on the trail, doing a little hiking in the beautiful mixed conifer forest at around 2000', just north of Lake Pend Oreille.  We last saw this area around 12 years ago, and we were stunned to see just how much the trees had grown in the interim – the flora is exhuberant up here, especially by comparison to what we're used to in southern California...

Light Blogging Alert...

I will be on the road for the next week or so.  Posting will be intermittent.  There may be photographs from the places I'm visiting...

Obamanation...

McNaughton is at it again, with “One painting that says it all”.  Don't miss the roll-over feature on his web site.  Via Doug S...

Cloud Computing...

I work for a “cloud” company.  “Cloud computing” is a term my colleagues and I use every day, and we all understand what the term means.  But apparently I'm living inside a bubble, and didn't know it...

The GIMP Goes Native...

If you're an amateur photographer who likes to edit your photos, but you don't want to pay for PhotoShop, then you may already be familiar with the GIMP – a capable photo editor that is free, open source software.  It's available for many platforms, including the Mac – but until now it has always required the X11 system to be running on the Mac.

Well, now the GIMP has gone native – you can download a .dmg file that installs a version of GIMP that runs natively on OS/X.  Yes, it includes both single- and multi-window views.  No more X11 and it's associated oddnesses.  Just native OS/X application goodness!

Quite a Night...

It was quite a night at the Republican National Convention – a whole series of speakers with only one sour note (McCain) amongst them.  Several of the speeches were excellent: Condoleeza Rice, Susana Martinez, Mike Huckabee, and (most especially) Paul Ryan. 

At this point in my life, political speeches rarely arouse emotions in me – I'm too busy thinking about what was just said, or (more commonly) not said.  I watch out for weasel words and empty, unfulfillable promises.  Ryan's speech got to me; somewhere along the line I lost my detatchment and got immersed in the speech, transfixed.  This man is giving me hope that real policy change might be possible...

Ryan's speech had many great moments. One of my favorite was this one:

College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.

That's just perfect. A not-so-subtle jab at Obama and an invitation to young voters, all in single, memorable sentence. “...fading Obama posters” instantly brought an image to mind that will endure.

Then there was this:

None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.

Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate.

It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio. When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. That’s what we do in this country. That’s the American Dream. That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.

That's an articulation of a big idea – freedom – into a political fight where the conventional wisdom is that big ideas don't play, don't work.  Well, this one works for me, and I hope it works well in this campaign.  If the Romney/Ryan campaign uses big ideas to win the White House, that's got the potential to change the way future presidents campaign.  In a good way, a very good way.

Ann Althouse summed up her reaction to Ryan's speech this way:

Ryan did a brilliant job. It was much more than a fine speech and an excellent delivery. He embodied that speech. We saw a brilliant candidate.

I agree completely.  Neo-neocon, writing about Ryan's speech, said this:

If I were Obama, I’d be feeling just a litle bit shaky now—even if I were a narcissist. Or maybe especially if I were a narcissist.

You'd think. But I'd bet not.

In general, both news and blogs sites are reacting very positively to Ryan's speech – even in some quarters where you'd expect reflexive critique (like, say, MSNBC).  It's hard to imagine how Ryan could have done any better...

If you're one of the majority who didn't watch Paul Ryan's speech, you can find both video and transcript here.

Obama Sends Us Another Message...

...by the way he “honors” fallen soldiers.  A form letter signed by a robo-pen.  Shameful...