New Parts

My Toyota FJ Cruiser parked next to a crashed Lockheed C-130 Hercules in the California Desert. Emilie (youngest daughter) leans on the front bumper.

There are some old parts coming off the rig and some new parts going on.

A new rear bumper is in the process of being fabricated!

Here it's being fitted to make sure it's perfect before the swing arm and other components are added.


There will be more photos to come of the new rear bumper and of the sliders that will be installed in the near future.

Did Arizona Win?

Why I voted Democrat

This may not make any sense to Republican or independent voters, but it makes sense to me.

10. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

9. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

8. I voted Democrat because Freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

7. I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

6. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

5. I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the deaths of millions of babies through abortion so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

4. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right to free health care, education, and Social Security benefits.

3. I voted Democrat because I believe that businesses should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the Progressives see fit.

2. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

1. I voted Democrat because it's unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.

The Tea Party

Today I participated in the Tea Party tax and big government protest at Santa Ana, California in the shadow of the courthouse where I used to work. There were five Tea Party protests in Orange County so there was a smaller crowd at the courthouse this year - maybe three hundred people. Possibly a few more than that. I read a cynical news report on CNN today, more or less making fun of the movement. It's the typical state-run media line we've heard for a long time. I rarely watch mainstream media news because it spouts the Democratic Party line without wavering. They've lost credibility and their ratings show it.

The government has separated itself from the Constitution, from the best interests of the people, and it pursues a reckless policy of spending without restraint. Unemployment continues to climb because you can't spend your way out of a recession. Socialized medicine has been a train wreck in every nation where it has been attempted. Unrestrained Federal spending will have a blow back effect and the condition of the country will only get worse because we have yet to feel the sting of inflation - but we will. It's the law of cause and effect. Socialism doesn't work, barack hussein obama is an enemy to the American people, and it's not a revenue problem in America (need for more taxes), it's a spending problem.

That's why I have made signs and showed up at these protests. I realize that I'm only one voice, but who would I be if I didn't try to make that voice heard?

It's his future that hangs in the balance, not mine.

Making Money for Charity

If you want to do what you can around the office to raise money for your favorite charity, consider what this company did with Bud Light Beer...

Golf-Masters Tournament Coverage

SNL Celebrates Golf and the return of Tiger Woods.

This is for my sons-in-law who play golf.

I don't.

Usual Suspects

Even though barack hussein obama, current US President and leader of the leftist regime is from Chicago, the Chicago Police Department is still arresting his followers. Note the obama line-up of mug shots taken from Chicago's criminals wearing garments supporting barack hussein obama and his regime. (h/t Chicago PD Detective Bureau)

I'm simply pleased to see that justice is being done irrespective of political affiliation...

The ObamaNation (USA)

The slogan is CHANGE, you can believe in.

We feel the change.

Potato Salad

My wife makes it once or twice a year. But it's one of my VERY favorite things to eat.

When it's fresh and still warm (from potatoes cooking) it's best. Her potato salad includes potatoes, green onions, eggs, pickles, olives and bacon (with mayo, mustard, pepper and season salt).

THIS IS THE DAY!

And I scoop out some into a bowl, sneak off into my den and eat a bowl of potato salad as if it was a bowl of ambrosia (food of the Gods of Olympus)!

Family, extended family and friends will descend on the house to eat an Easter meal (which will include potato salad) before long. But now, it's me -- my bowl of potato salad, and the blog.

War is a Racket

I am starting a suggested reading list and I'll post a book for your consideration each Friday. Since amazon.com carries my novel, WHITE POWDER, I'll provide you a link to that company so you can read more about my selection and decide whether or not you may wish to add it to your library.

This week's selection: War is a Racket, by Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, USMC. General Butler was awarded the Medal of Honor twice and the Brevet Medal, once. The Brevet Medal is essentially a Medal of Honor, awarded at a time when the Medal of Honor was limited to enlisted ranks. So General Butler effectively won the Medal of Honor three times. That makes him the most highly decorated soldier in American history.

It's a book that is opposed to war in the sense that wars (such as the most recent Iraq War) were designed to benefit corporations and not necessarily American interests.

Those of you who know me personally, know I'm not a powder puff pacifist. However, General Butler makes a very valid point and it's one worth considering when one considers "war" and whether the war is justified. You who know me will also know that my opinion of war also includes that if you think a war is worth fighting, you should be willing to send your children, knowing they will all die in that war. I'm not saying that they'll all die, but you need that mind set to determine whether or not the war is worth fighting. Somebody's children will die.   It puts a slightly different spin on things, doesn't it? 

Consider the book by General Butler.

Give them COWS!!

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington ?

And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.  (h/t Brandon Heslop)

Who is the DUMBEST US Politician?

If you're not from the US and you're reading this, you might not know what depths I have had to plumb to find "THE" imbecile who stands above all others in the above captioned category. Before I saw this video, I was certain that the most puerile, the most foolish person representing the US in Congress was Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL). Shockingly, it's not.

WE HAVE A WINNER

The award goes to.



Rep. Henry C. Johnson (D-GA), who just this week expressed concern that the island of Guam, a Territory of the United States, "might tip over" with the addition of 8,000 US Marines and their families to the current population of over 175,000.

So Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) is a runner-up to Henry C. (Hank) Johnson (D-GA) as is the US Vice President, Joe (Slow Joe) Biden. It's not really fair to include senile old Slow Joe Biden because his painful dementia has been coming on for some years. But I include him as a runner up anyway.

Rep. Hank Johnson practiced law in Georgia for twenty-five years. During that time period people wondered why so many black men accused of crimes were hung, electrocuted or imprisoned for long stretches of time. I think the answer is clear. Defense Attorney Henry C. (Hank) Johnson - that tower of legal acumen defended them --and-- even the most sympathetic juries condemned them to die.

barack hussein obama may be many things: national socialist, blatant racist, former narcotics addict, metrosexual (switch-hitter), etc. but he's nowhere as stupid as Congressman Henry (Hank) Johnson.