Atheists: Religion a "virus" that must be "cured"

Reading a letter this morning from a Christian ministry that we support, and it was relating a portion of an interview on the BBC between atheist Daniel Dennet and host Stephen Sackur:

SACKUR:  It seems to me you posit the idea that religions are evolving.  That, in essence, they're evolving in a way which is going to leave them extinct.  They are no longer necessary or useful for human beings.  Am I right?

DENNETT:  Well, first of all, even if they're no longer necessary or useful, they might not go extinct.  The common cold is not necessary or useful; it's not going extinct, is it?

SACKUR: Richard Dawkins talks of religion in a way -- to think of it almost like a virus.

DENNETT: That's why I used that example.  There are lots of symbiotes, lots of parasites and viruses and bacteria that thrive on us and other species, and some of them are very useful to us.  We couldn't live without them.  The flora in our guts, for instance.  We couldn't digest our food without it.  Some are just along for the ride, they don't hurt.  And a few of them -- a small minority -- are really harmful. They're bad for us.

SACKUR: And in that sense, in the intellectual sense, in the idea sense, religion is bad for us, and therefore we need a cure.  Is that what you're saying?

DENNETT:  A cure... yes, yes indeed, I think a lot of people are really afflicted by their religion, and I would love to see them cured.

And just for reference, here is a quote from Richard Dawkins in 2006 to which they are perhaps referring:  "Let me explain why; when it comes to children, I think of religion as a dangerous virus.  It's a virus which is transmitted partly through teachers and clergy, but also down the generations from parent to child to grandchild.  Children are especially vulnerable to infection by the virus of religion."

So, let me get this straight - these leading atheist leaders are the bright, shining pathway to a glorious future of humanity, and anyone who gets in their way is a virus that needs a good shot of the penicillin of atheism to cure them (or kill them off).

Before we get too caught up in the wonderfulness of atheism and it's potential to bring humanity to a new and brighter future, let me remind my readers of the history of atheism in the last century or so:

• Soviet Union (Lenin, Stalin, and their successors)
• Nazi Germany (Adolph Hitler)
• Facist Italy (Benito Mussolini)
• Red China (Chairman Mao)
• Cambodia (Pol Pot)
• Viet Nam (Ho Chi Minh)
• North Korea (three generations of Kim)
• Cuba (the Castro's, not to mention Che Guevara, who is dead)
• A host of other lesser lights like Ceausescu, Amin, Chavez, and Mugabe.

What is the common thread of these regimes?  Atheism.  Most are Marxist, but some have their own "denominations" of atheism.  We should ask the hundreds of millions of people murdered by these regimes if atheism was a shining path to the future for them.  Ask them if they would recommend these atheistic systems for a society looking to improve itself.  Ask them if atheism improved their lives.  Friends, we know the answer to those questions - those atheists brought nothing but slavery, misery, poverty, and death.  That is the end of atheism in all it's forms.

Frankly, you see where the current crop are going in the dismissive way that Dawkins and Dennett look at religion and religious people.  They are a problem to be gotten rid of.  Re-educated if possible, but gotten rid of as an infestation like they were a bunch of termites.  We see the characteristic thinking of all those on my list in these these men - willing to kill those who don't think like they do.  And make no mistake - if they are in power they will kill you if you don't convert to their atheism.

Now, the atheists will take my remarks here and point to the religious wars of history and say "see - you're just as bad!"  Take Jillian Becker, atheist and contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The Telegraph, who wrote in 2012:  "Has anything caused as much human suffering as religion?  You might say disease, but religion itself is a disease, of the human race and of individual minds.  Persecution, war, torture, terror, bodily pain, mental anguish, profound misery, wasted lives are the chief products of religion."

Ms. Becker - I answer emphatically: YES - ATHEISM!  See my list above for examples.

Have there been religious wars?  Yes, absolutely. Atheists like to point to the Crusades as a major case in point, and the standard line is that the Christians made war on the muslims for religious reasons.  Well, the truth is, the Crusades were a response to the Islamic expansions into Southern and Eastern Europe, and to the slaughter of Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land (after many years of peaceful co-existence).  Many myths have been promulgated over the last century as to the reasons for the Crusades, which we are now finding to be false.  Myths like a population explosion in Europe and needing more land for all those children, or non-firstborn sons who would not inherit family lands being the ones to go on the Crusade, or even that it was as much against the Jews as it was against the muslims.

But let's say all the myths are actually true.  Let's say that it was everything that standard history says it was, and more.  Let me then ask this question:  has this mindset continued through to today?  Do we see Christian armies plundering and pillaging and laying seige and taking over? Let's expand it and ask the same question about Buddhist or Jewish or even Scientologist armies doing that?  Have we seen that over the last hundred years?  200?  300?  (and if you say George W. Bush I'm going to smack you because you know that isn't true!)

One could say that in a sense Stephen Sackur was right when he said that religions are evolving - at least some of them are.  Evolving to the point were they are more interested in establishing and maintaining peaceful relationships with other countries and even other religions than they are conquering and ruling over them.  But somehow this is a bad thing in the eyes of atheists.  It's a virus that has to be cured.

I have tried to use neutral terms such as "religion", or give a list of religions as examples, rather than to focus on one specific religion.  However, I think Jesus has something to say on this issue:

"For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
(Luke 6:43-45)

If we are honest, I think we have to look at the world and at history, and judge the fruit of these different systems.  Which ones have produced good fruit?  Which ones have produced bad fruit?

On the whole, I don't think there is any question where the atheists fall on that scale.

Ultimately, this argument is about truth.  Is there such a thing as truth?  If so who or what defines it?  And where does your truth lead you, in terms of how you view the world and the people in it?

Where do you think atheism lands in that discussion?  What fruit has it produced?  Has it evolved to the better?

The Boston Massacre

The big media outlets seem to be dubbing last weeks bombing at the Boston Marathon "The Boston Massacre". I have to say that while the term massacre may possibly be technically correct, the real Boston Massacre was about free men defending themselves from a tyrannical government, not attempting to slaughter innocents.

This is why I have a problem with the term Boston Massacre being applied to this event. It somehow equates an act of murder by two cowards with heroic resistance to tyranny.

Frankly, I see no equivalence whatsoever.

"Marathon Bombing" is a much better term.

Another Detroit sports legend hangs 'em up.

First it was Steve Yzerman.  Then Nicklas Lidstrom.

Now, it's Jason Hanson.

Hanson announced his retirement today after 21 seasons as the placekicker for the Detroit Lions.  Hanson was a model of consistency and excellence on a team that has had little of either in the last 30 years.

Here is the Detroit News article on his decision and his career.

Thanks, Jason, for your class and for being the one Lion you could always count on.

Behind the scenes of John 3:16

This is from a somewhat surprising source - a movie review of "Olympus has Fallen" on WND.com by Drew Zahn, entitled "How could a loving God create hell?  Original here. 

A pivotal scene in the film, however, prompted me – as it will many in its audience – to ask a question of significance: “What would I do if I were in that one character’s shoes?”

My answer to the question led me further to an epiphany about God, about Christ and about the creation of a place none of us would ever wish to truly ponder, a place called “hell.”

In this pivotal scene – and I surrender no spoiler in discussing it in these terms – the president of the United States is threatened with the prospect of watching his son be tortured or killed. The movie’s villain hopes plying the president’s love for his son will extract from the commander-in-chief a code that can be used to wreak mass destruction on a global scale. The choice threatened: to watch his son be tortured or watch the world burn.

What a brutal choice for a father to face.

Yet what would I, the father of sons and daughters, do in this character’s place? What would I say to my son if he were placed upon the terrorist’s torture block, knowing that negotiating for my son’s life would mean surrendering the lives of millions?

I sat in the parking lot after the film and pondered the question.

Yet it didn’t take long for me to come to an answer. Perhaps my answer would be different in the heat of the moment. I don’t pretend to think I’d have this clarity when my son’s screams were ringing in my ears, but in the stillness of a darkened car in a darkened parking lot, the answer came to me.

What would I say to my son?

“My son,” I heard myself saying, “I love you, and I’m sorry, but remember John 3:16. I am the father, and you are my son, and I love you.”

John 3:16: “For [the Father] so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son …”

The answer settled in my soul – painful, agonizing, but right in my heart. I would not spare my son if it meant the death of millions of other sons.

But I can tell you this much: With the sound of my son’s agony resounding in my mind, I would remember every blow, every howl, every scream. And if I somehow made it out of that situation alive, president or no, if I caught that terrorist who tortured my son, no law, no badge, no gun, no force on earth would shield that man from the full measure of my wrath, burning and heaped down upon his head for all eternity.

And with that thought, I suddenly understood hell.

For the Father did seek to save the world, and the price was the brutal torture and death of His Son at the hands of men.

If God is a God of love, and He loves His Son, then we men, above all, have sound and good reason to fear the Father’s eternal wrath. It could not be otherwise and God to be a God of love.

And in that fury, that imagined rage I felt for briefest moment, I asked myself, what would satisfy my wrath? What would stay this father’s hand from a vengeance most fierce and horrible?

One thing. Only one thing. If my son, somehow brought back to life, were to say to me, “It’s OK, Dad. This one is with me. I forgive him.”

Then, and only then, would that man escape my wrath.

According to Scripture, we are the torturers, the terrorists, the brutal slayers of the Son of God, and the Father’s wrath is in store for us. Not just for those that lived in Jesus’ day, but for the whole of humanity.

Yet so magnificent is the love of Christ for his enemies that He said, “Father, forgive them.”
Somehow, Christ, come back to life, is willing to say to His Father, “It’s OK, Dad. This one is with me. I forgive him.”

The question is, of course, are you with the Son? Have you placed your only hope of salvation in His intercession on your behalf before His Father? Or do you persist in torturing Him?

One great big reason "The Sequester" should happen

From The Washington Post:  Sequester might ground lawmakers

Forget threats of furloughed workers or reduced security at embassies.
Here’s what might be the most powerful incentive yet for members of Congress to come up with a deal to avert the sequester: the head of the Air Force today warned that the spending cuts that will go into effect March 1 could cause the military to eliminate those lovely miljet flights that lawmakers enjoy.

The Shekel - Coins, Law and Commentary: Democrat Cognitive Dissonance On Women And Guns

My friend Aaron over at The Shekel nails the utter foolishness of the biggest gun controllers in Washington:

The Shekel - Coins, Law and Commentary: Democrat Cognitive Dissonance On Women And Guns

Suzanna Hupp testifies again before Congress

Yesterday, Suzanna Hupp testified before Congress on the effects of gun control laws.  This testimony is as moving today as it was in the early 90's when she did it the first time, telling Congress her firsthand account of the Luby's Massacre where the gunman killed both her parents.

I link to the Website of Jews for the Protection of Firearms Ownership, which has conveniently put videos of both testimonies together for your viewing.
http://jpfo.org/filegen-a-m/movieplay-hupp-congress-swf.htm

I'm probably preaching to the choir, but perhaps someone will stumble across this blog and see these videos of the true impact of gun control and understand how evil and despicable it is to take the right to self defense away from free men and women.

Perhaps even Colorado Rep. Joe Salazar will see this testimony and realize that his idea of women who are about to be raped would be better served by blowing whistles than blowing the brains out of their attacker is perhaps...silly.

I Just have to say it...

Spank!

MSU 75, UM 52

Dear Sen. Feinstein

Setting aside for a moment the fact the Bill of Rights is about rights, not needs, this gentleman answers the question quite directly from his own experience:

A Jew Without a Gun, by Robert J Avrech

Not that the Congress will listen to actual, you know, logic and reason.

Tiananmen Square Survivor reacts to Obama Gun Restrictions

Well, if folks won't believe me when I talk about what the 2nd Amendment means, maybe they'll listen to this gentleman, who has some up-close and personal experience with tyrannical government - Red China.

Musical Interlude #1

This is terrific!

And this one too!

http:\\thepianoguys.com

New Arrest in the War on Terror

A teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, the Attorney General Eric Holder said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

‘”Al-Gebra is a problem for us,” the Attorney General said. “They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values.” They use secret code names like ‘X’ and ‘Y’ and refer to themselves as “unknowns”, but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.

As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, ‘There are 3 sides to every triangle’.

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Obama said, “If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes.” White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the President. It is believed that the Nobel Prize for Physics will follow.





http://www.commonsenseevaluation.com/2010/02/15/the-al-gebra-movement/

Republicans Cave

Why do we even differentiate between Republicans and Democrats any more?  They are all the same.  There isn't a dime's worth of difference between them, as evidenced by their total collapse in passing the bills to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff".

There is no principle in the Republican party any more.  They have given the President everything he wanted, and will drive us even more deeply into financial ruin.  Why does the Republican party exist any more - they only do the bidding of the Democrats.  Even when they had the majority, they couldn't do anything with it.  Except be Democrats.

Ban Hammers!!

The Detroit News ran a story today about an Oakland county man who was attacked while he slept by his 19 year old son, who used a two pound hammer to inflict skull fractures and other broken bones.

In keeping with the lessons coming from Dianne Feinstein and her colleagues in the Senate, it is obvious what we must do to stop these senseless hammer crimes. We have to ban these evil devices which have no legitimate purpose. No civilian needs a two pound hammer - no one needs more than a one ounce hammer. And we need to register those one pounders so if they are used in a crime we can track them. Oh, and when you die your estate has to return them to the government for disposal

Sounds pretty silly doesn't it? Well, that's the "logic" of gun banners.

The First Amendment is already under attack

On Saturday I posed the question about the relative importance of the First and Second Amendments to the Constitution, and how the political left is all about the First but not the Second.

Well, as WND.com reminds us today in this article, the left has been attacking the First Amendment since the 2009 passage of Obamacare.

The article reminds us that the free speech rights of the First Amendment have already been compromised by this law, which imposes abortion and contraceptive coverage on all, including those business owners who have deep moral and religious convictions against such practices.  So these business owners are forced to choose between their convictions and bankruptcy, due to the fines imposed by Obamacare.

Friends, the government is not the benevolent force for good that you are expected to believe they are - they are malevolent, always seeking to expand their control over every thing and every one.  Every American MUST fight against these control freaks and their incessant attacks against the rights of free men and women.  The Constitution is the only thing that stands between you and these totalitarian utopianists, and they are trying to get rid of it one Amendment at a time.

A Little History Lesson for Piers Morgan Followers

I watched a YouTube video of Mr. Morgan interviewing Ted Nugent a little over a year ago.  It went something like this:

Piers: Don't you think that not having as many guns available would solve this problem?

Ted:  No.  It is a proven fact that more guns equates to lower crime rates, based on data from the US Government and the UN.

Piers:  Yes, but don't you think that fewer guns would mean fewer shootings?

Ted: No.  As I just said, statistics show that crime drops where there are more guns, and it rises where there are more restrictions.

Piers: Yes, but don't you think that limiting access to guns would mean less crime?

Ted: *sigh*

And so it went.

I haven't seem any of his post-Sandy Hook tirades (although I have heard they are a sight to behold), I understand they take the same line of reasoning:  Less guns means less crime.

Well, it occurred to me that we have an American historical event that we can look to for instructive purposes in understanding what happens when a legal substance that people want is banned.  That event would be the passing of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in 1919, more commonly known as Prohibition.  At the time, the evils of alcoholic beverages were considered to be so great that the Congress proposed and the States ratified the Amendment.  All except for Rhode Island, apparently.

Well what happened?  One of the results of the ban is that people ignored it.  Speakeasy's popped up everywhere, and people still got liquor, even though it was illegal.  Smugglers, called "runrunners" brought alcohol from places where it was still legal (like Canada and Mexico) into the US, giving rise to a criminal class.  Then there was the rise of Organized Crime, and people like Al Capone became household names for all the wrong reasons, not to mention events like the St. Valentines Day Massacre.

By 1933, the States had had enough of the crime, death, and corruption that went along with Prohibition, and Congress proposed and the States ratified the 21st Amendment which repealed it.  But we still have the criminal classes and the organized crime that it gave birth to.  Lucky us.

It has been generally accepted in the United States the Prohibition was the wrong thing to do, and that banning something by government edict generally doesn't work out very well for anyone.  At least, it used to be when actual history was taught in schools, and the lessons of history logically discussed.

So for you Morganites out there, including your leader, here is a factual lesson of history for you:  Prohibitions of anything don't get you what you want, they only increase the mess you are trying to clean up.  I don't care how good, important, pious, or superior it makes you feel - it only makes things worse.

And Piers - when you result to name calling and insults, it only shows you have lost the debate, and your arguments are weak and don't hold up to intelligent scrutiny.

For you Constitutional Scholars out there...

I have a question for you as our nation seems to be rushing toward restrictions on rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Why are 2nd Amendment rights somehow less important than 1st Amendment rights?

Why did the "Occupy" people get to go around raping, molesting, and getting high and getting away with it in the name of "free speech" but one whack-job kills some people and suddenly we have to do away with gun rights for everyone?  How does that work?

Until you people calling for the banning of firearms and ammunition can answer this question in a lucid, unemotional, logical manner, you need to go away because you are whining, not discussing. 

Gun Free Zones

For those of my readers who think Gun Free Zones are the answer to events like Sandy Hook, I offer this insightful video:

Choice

Bravo to ProudHillbilly at From the Caer for this one:

I Really Don't Get It

Spineless

Must be the tears and wailing over the Sandy Hook shooter have rusted the iron spine Gov. Snyder showed last week when facing down the labor unions, because today he completely caved in to the Gun Banners on CPL reform.

I didn't want to believe it when others on my side of this issue were wishing Jennifer Granholm was still Governor, but I have to admit, she was better at signing pro-gun legislation than the Governor we have now.

Gov. Snyder - as of today you are just another politician who won't listen to common sense and sound reason.  There is only one way you get my vote next time around:  Get with Sen. Green, write a better bill (this one had some real malodorous parts), and get it passed by June.  Here is what it must do:

1. Eliminate County Gun Boards.  Most of us wanted the Secretary of State to be the issuing authority for CPL's, but would accept Sheriffs being the issuing authority.  The bill you just vetoed had some good provisions to keep anti-gun sheriffs in line and should be included.
2. Eliminate Gun-Free Zones.  As Sandy Hook proved yet again, Gun-free zones only increase the body count.  Compare Sandy Hook to New Life Church and see what a difference a good guy (or in that case, woman) with a gun and the will to use it will make.  Schools, Hospitals, Sports Arenas - all of them - no longer prohibited.  There is no reason to require extra training or extra anything.  CPL holders in Michigan have proven themselves to be levelheaded and serious about the responsibility we take on when we carry that gun.  Extra training is superfluous.
3. Make it clear that Private Property rights will be maintained.  If a church or business or person wants to prohibit firearms on their property that is their right.  But there should be no opt-outs for schools or other public entities.  If you get state or local funding, you may not prohibit the carrying of firearms.
4. Make it clear that State preemption laws apply to MSU, UM, and Wayne State University.  They don't get to supersede state law.
5. Leave open carry alone.  If nothing else, it is what protects you if the wind blows your cover garment up and people see your pistol and call police, who then hassle you about your pistol and threaten to charge you with brandishing.
6. Eliminate the Permit to Purchase and the resulting pistol registration.

And one more thing, which can't be written into law but should be written in your mind every day:  Stop listening to whining bedwetters who go into a panic whenever something bad happens and immediately want to ban guns.  The problem is not guns - the problem is evil.  And at some point evil needs to be addressed forcefully.

Boehner Must Go

As reported by several news outlets this weekend, Speaker of the House John Boehner is now advocating for a "Millionaire Tax".  Thus the Republican Establishment begins the cave-in to the President on taxes.

John Boehner must not be re-elected to the Speakership in the new Congress.  He is weak and has no core values beyond getting himself re-elected to his cushy congressional job.  Whatever it takes.  Including deals with the devil.

Jeff Feiger on Right-to-Work in Michigan

So I'm driving home from work last night, and I hear a commercial come on the radio that starts out like this:  "Hi.  This is Jeff Feiger".  Instant double-take on my part, as Jeff has been quiet for a while. 

Thus began an irrational spewing of doom and gloom and the same tired old jargon the Jeff and his leftist buddies have been spewing for years.  How Michigan is doomed, and how could we have done this to ourselves, and it's all because of greedy corporate interests that this happened.  And his last three words:  "God help us".  Seriously - he said that. 

Then, this morning, I turned on the radio while getting ready for work and heard him again live on The Paul W. Smith Show spewing the same hogwash.  "Who will want to live here?  It will be nothing but smokestacks!" (whatever that means) And what to him must be the ultimate insult:  "We'll be Mississippi!"  (Honestly Paul W. - why do you keep bringing this guy on?  He is completely irrational, and irrelevant to what is going on in Michigan.)

I don't know if you noticed Jeff, but nobody bought this twaddle when you ran for Governor (John Engler cleaned your clock, and even your own party wanted nothing to do with you), and the number buying it has been steadily decreasing since then.  Your union pals proved that this year by getting drubbed on the two union-backed ballot proposals.

Now, I will give Jeff this much - he is paying for the ads with his own money.  Because our Constitution recognizes your right to sound like an idiot whenever you want, and spend your own money doing it.  It doesn't guarantee that anyone will take you seriously.

More Right-to-Work Hypocracy from the Left

So today the entire Democrat congressional delegation from Michigan flew in to Lansing to lobby the Governor against Right-to-Work, according to The Detroit News.

They are very concerned that this legislation is being brought up and passed in Michigan through some "sneaky parliamentary process", according to Rep. John Dingell.

Umm, folks - may I suggest that you pull the plank out of your own eye before you start working on whatever speck of dust may be in Gov. Snyder's eye?  This is exactly how you shoved Obamacare down our throats, only more so.  Parliamentary tricks, misdefinitions, and stretching of the truth beyond the breaking point, not to mention the Constitution.  Such that the Supreme Court had to set you straight on what you did (yes, it really was a tax, not a fee).

So don't go crying about mean ol' Gov. Snyder and his tricksterism.  Indeed, the republicans have been straight up about what they are doing, not couching it in phony semantic flim-flammery.

Gretchen Whitmer - whiny crybaby

According to an article in the Washington Times, Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Senate Minority Leader is, in essence, saying to Gov. Snyder "If you don't give me what I want, I'm going to get my Big Brother to beat you up".

From the article:

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer, who on Thursday called the votes to approve the right-to-work measure “petty and vindictive politics,” sparked more backlash Friday when she said she wants the president, who is set to visit Detroit on a previously scheduled political trip on Monday, to push back on Republican Gov. Rick Snyder by holding back federal money for a new international bridge project to Canada and a badly needed mass-transit program in ailing Detroit.

Well, Senator - to take a page from your big brother's book, since a 3 point victory means he has a mandate, I guess the crushing defeat of Big Labor at the Michigan Ballot Box in November means that the Governor has a mandate to pass Right-to-Work.  You just need to sit down and shut up and take it.

What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, after all.

The Irony of Right-To-Work in Michigan

Isn't it ironic that the party who loudly champions "choice" when it suits their purposes ("a woman's right to choose" or "lifestyle choice") is so loudly against choice when it doesn't suit their purposes (right-to-work)?

It would seem they are only for choice when you make the choices they allow you to make.  God forbid you should make choices they don't want you to make. 

Just for the record, I am a 23 year member of one of the largest unions in the country, the NEA.  And if this legislation passes, I will be first in line with my resignation from that vile, disgusting organization.

Vote 2012

I just came back from voting the ineligible marxist liar out of the office he usurped in '08.  But that isn't what I wanted to blog about today.  I just wanted to send a message to Gov. Snyder regarding Proposal 6.  For those of you outside of Michigan you probably haven't heard about the issue, but because I'm sure the Governor reads my blog religiously I wanted to comment.

Today I voted NO on Prop 6, but Governor, it wasn't because you asked me to.  It's because Matty Maroun is a sleazy scumball and that proposal was all about him and his empire, and something like that shouldn't be in the Constitution in the first place.

But know this, Gov. Snyder:  I don't like your sleazy conduct on this issue either.  The elected representatives of the citizens of this state (the majorities of which are of your own party) turned down your bridge proposal, and it is disgusting that you decided to circumvent the will of the people as expressed by that vote.  Your conduct is only slightly less reprehensible than Maroun's.

Now, concerning Proposal 1, which amounts to a public ratification of Public Act 4, more commonly known as the Emergency Manager Law.  I get so tired of the whining citizens of these cities and school districts getting on the "you're usurping local elected officials and local control and putting an unelected and unaccountable bureaucrat in charge" bandwagon.

Folks - if your local elected officials didn't have their heads in their nether regions in the first place, you wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place.  And who was it that kept voting the goofballs into office in the first place?  Check your closest mirror for the answer to that question.

So now you've run yourselves into the ground and you can't pay the bills.  Without the Emergency Manager law, your only option would be Municipal Bankruptcy.  And who is making the decisions then?  Why bless my soul, it's an unelected and unaccountable Federal Judge!  So the "Local Control" argument is no argument, but a smokescreen.

Of course, any fat-cat, corrupt politician wants to keep his power, so in order to avoid losing that, he turns to the State to bail him out.  Well folks, when you want the State to bail you out of your predicament there are of necessity some strings attached to that money, and that's where the EM comes in.  Because you're now asking the citizens of the entire state to save you, and that gives them an interest in how your municipality or school district is run.  It can't be business as usual.

Now, despite the "unaccountable and unelected" argument, who appoints the EM?  Why, the Governor of course.  And I'm pretty sure that all Governors in all 50 states are elected by the people of those states.  Ours in Michigan certainly is.  So you have an appointed outside party who answers to the Governor, who answers to the people of the State every 4 years, just like those local politicians you are so concerned about.  It's not like the EM just materializes like something out of a Star Trek transporter room.

Certainly the labor unions in those municipalities - teachers, fire, police, and others - don't like the EM, because all of their contracts quite likely go out the window.  But why should the unions not share in the pain of turning things around?  Nobody gets off scot-free in situations like this.  Yes, there will be job cuts.  Yes, services will be reduced.  Yes, classroom sizes will get bigger.  Lots of stuff will happen.  But those things would happen with a bankruptcy judge too.  So again, this is no argument, just a smokescreen.

All in all, the EM law gets bankrupt units of government back on their feet without having to resort to the  painful, and expensive Federal Court case that will drag on for months and impose solutions that will look pretty much the same as what the EM would impose.  You just get there sooner with the EM, and you retain some level of accountability through the Governors office, which you wouldn't have with the Judge.

Seems to me that is as good of a solution as you are going to get.

An Unexpected Briefing from Air New Zealand

A friend linked me to this, and it's too good not to share.

Russian Navy used as DNC backdrop

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised - the Head Communist in Charge used Russian Navy Ships as a video backdrop during the latest coronation at the party convention last week.  Full article in the Navy Times here.

“I was kind of in shock,” said Rob Barker, 38, a former electronics warfare technician who left the Navy in 2006. Having learned to visually identify foreign ships by their radars, Barker recognized the closest ship as the Kara-class cruiser Kerch.
“An immediate apology [from the committee] would be very nice,” Barker said. “Maybe acknowledge the fact that yes, they screwed up.”
The background — featured in the carefully choreographed hour leading up to the president’s Sept. 6 speech accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination — showed four ships with radar designs not used in the U.S. fleet.
For example, the ship in the foreground, on the far right, has a square radar antenna at the top of its masthead. That is the MR-700 Podberezovik 3-D early warning radar, commonly identified as “Flat Screen” for its appearance, a three-dimensional early warning radar mounted on the Kerch, said Eric Wertheim, editor of “Combat Fleets of the World.”
Similarly, the third ship has a MR-310 “Head Net” air search radar, shaped like two off-set bananas, at its masthead and is mostly likely the guided missile destroyer Smetlivyy. The first two ships seem to be Krivak-class frigates, but it’s hard to discern from the silhouette, experts said.
But the fact they are Russian ships is not in doubt. In addition to the ship’s radar arrays and hulls, which are dissimilar from U.S. warships, the photo features one more give-away: a large white flag with a blue ‘X’ at the ships’ sterns.

And please - all you Obama kool-aid drinkers - don't send me your comments that Obama didn't plan the convention and this wasn't his mistake.  If you're the top dog, you are responsible.  And no comments about how the Russians aren't communists any more.  As long as Putin is running things over there, they're communists.

Saturday Range Trip

Well, it seems that it was a weekend for shooting, as my friends at Lagniappes Lair and The Shekel were out as well.

My trip was experimental in nature.  My kids and I shot a match (the Glassen) at my club last Tuesday, and my 15-year-old was using the club AR that she has been issued, which I equipped with a .22LR conversion kit, since all of her shooting this summer was to be .22.  This worked well all summer, until we went to the Appleseed shoot a couple of weekends ago, where it suddenly began to pattern like a shotgun, and keyholing.  At 25 meters.  To the point of having to borrow a rifle for her to continue to participate.  A closer inspection in the evening showed extreme leading in the barrel and in the conversion unit.  I cleaned it thoroughly the night before the match, but I had no idea how it was going to perform.  Well, to her great and tearful disappointment, the cleaning helped not a bit.  The match is 4 targets, 5 shots each target, in 30 minutes, with 10 sighters, at 50 yards.  Her sighters were fine, but after that she was all over the place, completely missing two of the targets.  She didn't even have her targets scored, she was so upset.

Well, this rifle has run like a top ever since she has had it, so didn't think there was anything wrong with the rifle, but I wanted to make sure, so since I had a trip to Williamston planned for Saturday morning, I packed the rifle up and took it with me so I could pop over to the club after my meeting.  I wanted to fire some .223 through it also, as they recommend doing that once in a while to blow the crud out of the gas tube that can accumulate when firing .22LR.  Of course, I forgot the .223 bolt, so that didn't happen.

I had 3 different kinds of .22 ammo with me:  Winchester M-22, which is a 40-grain "black copper" plated round, Winchester Wildcat, a 40-grain lead round, and some Federal plated stuff in the red 550 round bulk pack - this was a 36-grain hollow point. 

I loaded up the M-22 first to see what would happen.  This was the ammo she used at the Appleseed and at the Glassen.  I shot at 25 yards just to see how it was printing, and because the MRPA was having a match at the 50 and 100 yd lines. Well, I saw the same performance she did - shots all over the place, and a couple of keyholes.  This surprised me as my Ruger 10/22 really likes this ammo.  So I switched over to the Wildcat and got the same thing.  I pulled the conversion unit out and took a look at it, and I did see some flecks of lead on it (likely from the Wildcat), so I cleaned it up a bit and put it back in.  Then I loaded up the Federals.  Wow!  All of a sudden, it was grouping consistently, and with no keyholes!  I put another 20 or 30 rounds of that downrange just to make sure, then I put up a new target and shot a 10 round string from the sitting position with a sling, like they taught us at Appleseed.  My score was 100, 5X.

When I showed her this target later at home, she started yelling "no way!".  I told her this target should be an encouragement to her, because it told her that she didn't shoot badly, but that the gun didn't like the ammo I gave her to use.  I hope that helped her to put her experiences of the past week behind her and look forward to shooting again, because she is really good and I would like her to see how far she can go with this.  It might even help her get some scholarship money for college!

I also shot my Glock 17 while I was there.  I think I want to lighten the trigger on that thing a little bit - I don't know if it's stacking or if it has one of those NY triggers that are over 9 pounds, but it's really stiff just before it breaks.

The Left: Shining exemplars of tolerance

From an article in WND.com by Jeff and Chris Knox.  Full article here.

"Animal-rights advocates launched a vicious social media attack on U.S. Olympic trap shooter Corey Cogdell, just days before the 24-year-old Alaska native’s effort to best her 2008 bronze medal performance in Women’s International Trap. Her Facebook page and Twitter accounts were inundated with comments calling the beautiful young athlete a bitch, psychopath and murderer, and suggesting that she should shoot herself, be used as a target, or be physically assaulted. Some of the commenters went so far as to directly threaten physical violence on Corey, while others stuck to name-calling and expressing their hope that she would fail in her Olympic efforts.
The reason for the nasty assaults is that along with being a world-class trap shooter, Corey Cogdell is an avid hunter and outdoorswoman. Photographs of Cogdell with game she had taken were spread among animal-rights networks along with outrageous claims of animal cruelty and waste. As the hate spread, the threats and viciousness escalated, and the lies grew bigger."

 They're such wonderful, compassionate, caring, tolerant folks, those lefties.  Don't you just want to hug them after reading that article?

Appleseed

For two years I have wanted to do one of these with my kids, and now we have had one dropped in our back yard, almost literally - the club that is hosting it is a ten-minute drive from our house!

What is an Appleseed, you ask?  Some sort of organic fruit growers convention?  A cider-guzzling contest?  No, my friends - it's shooting!  And we are going to hone our marksmanship skills while learning the true story of the start of the American War for Independence.  Two days and 500 rounds worth of firearms fun.  I'll try to get pictures and post an AAR next week.  For now, it's time to get our Liberty Training Rifles cleaned and ready!

If you want more info on Appleseed, go here:  Appleseed

Just a plug - my Club in Eaton Rapids is also holding one this weekend (8/18, 19), but as of yesterday had no enrollees.  If you have an interest and Eaton Rapids is close, sign up!  I don't think it will be crowded.

Consequences of Elections

The more I ponder Chief Justice Roberts' statement that it is not the job of the Supreme Court to protect the people from the consequences of elections, the more disgusted I get.

Justice Roberts - it may not be your job to protect us from ourselves, but it IS your job to protect the Constitution from those who are attacking it.  Thus, you have shirked your oath and your responsibility, while trying to deflect the blame to the voters.  You are a coward, sir.

So I suppose this is the consequence of electing George W. Bush, who gave us this coward.  No, I don't miss George, but I do miss President Reagan.

Sue's Brain

I see I haven't posted here in a while, and this one will be outside my normal commentary topics, but there are a few people here who read my blog that I haven't reached with this news yet.

On Sunday, June 17th, I had to take my wife Sue to the ER with "the worst headache of her life".  What we initially thought was a really bad migraine turned out to be a small hemorrhage in her brain.

She is doing well, and has no physical or neurological impairments, but is still in the hospital recovering from this injury.  I have started another blog to keep folks updated on her progress.  It is at Sue's Blog

Thanks for any prayers you might want to send our way!

First Tigers post of the new season

1. Congratulations to Drew Smyly, who won the battle to be the 5th starter in the pitching rotation.  He brings a much needed left-handed arm to the rotation, and will be considered a success if he can win 10-15 games this year, and keep his team in the game consistently.  Outpitched a couple of guys that were drafted a lot higher than he was.  Just keep it simple and throw strikes, buddy!  There's a lot of firepower to back you up on this team!
2. Brandon Inge.  Count me as one of those who has always hoped he would have more seasons like he did in 2006.  But I have come to realize that as much as I like him, it's time for him to retire, as he doesn't hit well enough to deserve a roster spot.  He has been a consistent .200 to .220 hitter for his whole career, and his defense isn't enough to overcome his lack of offense.  Danny Worth has outplayed him and deserves the spot.  The Tigers were willing to eat Inge's salary last year, and I expect they will be this year too. 

Computer Crash

So I'm sitting at my desk at work last Thursday and my wife calls.  "My computer won't start up - all it does is beep over and over in groups of seven beeps".  This is a computer (a Dell Vostro laptop) we bought in mid-December and already it's failing?  Not good.  Well, at least the next day warranty is good for another 250 days or so.

If you are a techie, you know that beep codes at system start up usually mean some sort of catastrophic failure has happened inside that thing.  So when I get home that night I start researching the problem on Dell's support website.  They say "make sure the RAM, disk drive, and CPU are all seated properly".  OK - this makes sense.  So I follow the very helpful on-line owners manual which I downloaded to my machine at home (which I built myself) and crack that puppy open.  Unseat and re-seat all components.  Reassemble.  Power up.  beep beep beep beep beep beep.  Sigh.  Call Dell.

Now, something else that techies know is that much of Dell's phone support is handled in India, and you hear the horror stories of barely understandable phone reps trying to go through the troubleshooting scripts.  I must say that this was not the case for my call.  While I believe my rep was from India, I could understand him very well, and he asked me good troubleshooting questions (although there are only so many questions to ask when the thing won't boot!).  I may have had a little advantage in that I have worked with a lot of folks from that part of the world so I'm more used to the accent than many people are.  It only took about a half hour to go through the troubleshooting and set up the tech support visit.  I didn't think that was too bad.

I also have to say that Dell's "Next Business Day" service so far has not materialized.  It's mid-afternoon of the following Monday as I write this and I still have not heard from them.  After they didn't call me on Friday I had them change the contact information since there would not be anyone at home to receive them this week.  I hope that didn't reset the counter or this thing might not be fixed until Friday, at the rate they're going.

I'm also quite astounded that this computer has failed so soon.  I have been using and recommending Dell computers of all types for ten years at least (and been through a half a dozen of them myself, including three laptops), and this is the first catastrophic failure I have ever had.  Perhaps the law of averages has caught up to me?   We'll see if there are any more problems with this computer - I hope it isn't a lemon!

So my poor wife is relegated to one of the kid's computers, and trying to work through the web interface for her email, and using OpenOffice Writer instead of Microsoft Word to create her documents.  Well, it shouldn't be too long and she'll be back up again.  I may have to look for some disaster recovery possibilities to get around this in the future.  Hmmm - virtual machines anyone?

Updated to add: The Dell Tech finally showed up on business day 3 and replaced the motherboard.  Everything working swimmingly now!

Romney = More Big Government

Yes, the Republicans have come to Michigan - well, at least Romney and Santorum have.  Therefore, the "vote for me" ads are now saturating the airwaves.

Mitt Romney has one that talks about how Santorum admits he's no longer a deficit hawk and thinks earmarks are a great thing, and we should vote for Mitt because he will get rid of Obamacare, and his test to see if we need to keep a Federal program will be "whether we are willing to borrow money from China to pay for it".

Umm, excuse me Mr. Romney, but isn't it borrowing that has gotten us into the economic mess we're in in the first place?  You're telling me that you are willing to continue to saddle future generations of Americans with huge debt loads?  That's your great plan for reforming the government?  Mr. Romney, that isn't reforming government, that's more of the same.

If your ad is truly reflective of Santorum (which I doubt), then all you have done is prove to me that you are as clueless as he is about what the problems are in DC, and you have no vision for solving them.  Why would I vote for that?

Another example of economically challenged Socialist Democrat thinking

Perusing an article in The Detroit News today reporting that Chrysler is pulling out of talks with the fedgov for several billion dollars in new loans to pay for retooling to produce more energy efficient cars.  It appears that Chrysler is tired of the fedgovs foot-dragging and haggling over the amount of the loans and will finance the retooling themselves out of their own resources.  (Full article here)  To which I say:  Bravo Chrysler!

It seems that the original loan request (in 2008) was for over $8 billion, and the last number for the loans (from early 2012) was reported in the article to be under $2 billion.  The article also mentioned that epic failures of fedgov handouts to companies like Solyndra were a factor in the administrations delays and reductions, especially in an election year.  No surprise there!

Then, reading on, I notice that Michigan's own Sen. Debbie Stabenow was quoted from Jan. 2011 saying the projects Chrysler was working on would save 520 million gallons of gasoline between 2011 and 2015.  And I got to thinking:  How much is 520 million gallons of gasoline?  It sounds like an impressive number, but is it really?

Answers.com tells me that the percentage of gasoline that can be extracted from a given volume of crude oil varies based on the amount of sulphur in the oil, but the best case seems to be around 50%, so it takes 2 gallons of crude to make 1 gallon of gasoline.  So its 1.04 billion gallons of oil to make that 520 million gallons of gasoline.

So then - how many gallons of crude oil does a tanker hold?  Off to Wikipedia for that one.  The largest tankers in the world, the TI Class, hold about 130 million gallons of crude.  So it's 8 trips of one of those tankers to reach the 1.04 billion gallon mark.  Use the largest vessel for the most economic method of transport.

Our friend Democrat Debbie spreads that out over five years, so that's 208 million gallons of crude per year, or less than 2 tankers full of crude oil which would be saved per year by all this federal largesse.  2 Tankers full of oil.  2 tankers.  OK - 1.6 tankers, to be precise.

Friends, this is why socialists should never, ever be put in positions of power. Because to support this kind of spending means one of two things, ultimately:  either they can't do simple math to find out if something they want to do is economically feasable.  Or, they have another agenda in place, to which the economic realities of the universe are secondary.  Well, I suppose there could be a third option:  they're just stupid.

Hmmm.  Wonder which one it might have been here for ol' Democrat Debbie?

Edited to Add a little more math (2/17/12):   At the $3.119/gal price I saw on the sign coming in to work today, that would be $1.6 billion in gas saved over 5 years (520 million times 3.119).  At $3.50/gal it's $1.8 billion.  So the socialists in DC were going to spend anywhere from 2 to 8 billion dollars to save 1.6 to 1.8 billion.  You math-whiz types - tell me if this is a good return on investment or not?

Thank You, Carlos Guillen

Sports Post:  Yesterday it was made official - Carlos Guillen is no longer a Detroit Tiger, after signing a minor-league contract with the Seattle Mariners, the team he broke in with.

Carlos - you were terrific.  You played with heart and passion and you showed up every day.  You didn't whine and complain, you just went out and played where they put you.  And I will always smile when I think of you completely getting into Jeff Weaver's head last year when you hit the homer off him.  That was just wonderful!

I hope your body lets you have a full season this year - if anyone deserves it, it's you.  Thanks for wearing the 'D' with pride and professionalism.

Happy Birthday, Michigan

Quietly celebrating 175 years of statehood for Michigan today, created out of "The Toledo War"

Tigers news: Victor Martinez out for the season

What a kick in the teeth - this guy was money for Detroit last season, and tough as nails.  The perfect guy to hit behind Miguel Cabrera.  So now the question is who takes his place?  Here is the list that the Detroit News came up with, with their 2011 stats:

Carlos Pena, Cubs, .225, 28, 80
Vladimir Guerrero, Orioles, .290, 13, 63
Johnny Damon, Rays, .261, 16, 73
Prince Fielder, Brewers, .299, 38, 120
Yoenis Cespedes (NA)
Carlos Guillen, Tigers, .232, 3, 13

I tell you, if I'm the opposing manager, the only guy I don't walk Cabrera to get to is Fielder.  Maybe Guerrero.  Those other guys hitting behind Cabrera means you are losing a ton of offense, especially since you are then counting on guys like Worth, Inge, and Kelly to be big RBI guys, which they have never been.  The only proven reliable hitter they have in the lineup after the 5-hole would be Delmon Young.  I might still walk Cabrera to get to Young, but I have to think a lot harder about it.

Fielder is an interesting thought even as a 1-year rental.  Since they both play the same position, you could split the defensive tasks between Cabrera and Fielder, and they might both be a little fresher come playoff time.  They both play every day, just one or the other of them plays defense.

I know - that's a crazy and expensive scenario.  But interesting.  And you don't waste a season plugging in utility guys in that spot.  You have to figure VMart's salary this year is covered by insurance, so you might give Fielder 10 or 12 million on a 1-year deal for a shot at the World Series if no one else signs him.

Sugar Bowl proves UM a fraud

Once again, UM shows the world what a fraud they are and how undeserving they were of a BCS bowl bid.  Less than 200 yards of total offense?  Are you kidding me?  Va. Tech handled you guys, but couldn't handle themselves.  Any team with a decent defense can stop the supposedly Heisman-worthy Denard Robinson (as Michigan State has proved 2 years in a row).  There are a couple of nice players there, but please - UM is living on its reputation (which the current crop of guys did nothing to deserve) and nothing else.  They didn't beat anyone substantial and got handled by the better teams they faced.

Fraud-verines.

More Anti-Gun Illogic

I'll let my friend Aaron over at The Shekel say it, because he does it so well:

The Shekel - Coins, Law and Commentary: When Misguided Belief In Magic Regarding Guns Overcomes Rational Thinking

Who are these guys? A Look at OWS.

I'm just spreading the word here, via Lagniappe's Lair (and many others!)

OWS Raw

The Storm Drain of Government

Reading an article today by Eric Fry, and he gave this terrific simile:

The governments of the West have come to see themselves as a financial Army Corps of Engineers — overpowering the course of nature with brute force. They respond to short-term crises with powerful, overly engineered “solutions,” without ever really considering the long-term harm these solutions may produce. Sure, the river doesn’t flood when you transform every oxbow into a concrete storm drain. But diverting nutrient-rich silt away from farmland and into the sea is not exactly progress.

Nevertheless, governments throughout the West continue building their storm drains. They continue to divert essential nutrients away from the private sector and pour them into a bottomless sea of bankrupt governments and failing too-big-to-fail enterprises. In other words, the governments of the West continue to “do more,” when “less” would work just fine.

Friends, we have a century's worth of evidence that government at every level is a bumbling fool when it tries to do anything.  It never solves problems, but only creates bigger problems, which it then tries to fix with even bigger "ideas" that will lead to even bigger failures.  But the common thread through all of it is that taxpayers are expected to foot the bill for these ever-increasing failures without complaining.

Understand that I am not one of the anarcho-marxists currently "occupying" certain parks in several American cities.  I know there is a certain amount of government that is necessary for the orderly operation of society.  Vital records must be kept.  Contracts must be enforced.  Traffic must be regulated.  Property rights must be upheld.  Things of that nature.  But the sort of cradle to grave handout mentality that stifles and ultimately chokes out the God-given creativity and dignity of humanity, not to mention taking every penny from everyone it can just to feed it's Jabba the Hut-like maw - it must be done away with.  I pray that voters realize this in time, before those who don't particularly care for voting decide to do something about it.

Tigers Eliminate Yankees

There is joy in Motown today as the Detroit Tigers eliminated the New York Yankees from the American League playoffs last night.  Lots of clutch pitching against a potent Yankees lineup.  Despite two blowout losses, Tigers pitchers held that lineup to a .260 batting average for the five game series.

Yet, to read the national media today (ESPN and CBS Sportsline in particular), the theme of the day is a requiem for the Yankees, bemoaning their loss rather than the Tigers win.  Because of course, nothing important happens outside of New York, at least in the media's eyes.  Or, in Baseball context, nothing important happens outside of the American League East (or the National League East for that matter).

I sure am enjoying the fact that the two AL East teams, those great juggernauts, the supposed cream of the league, who were going to beat up on those other teams from flyover country, are now both out of the playoffs!  It seems that the East isn't the beast it was made out to be.

So hats off to "Jimmy Smokes" and his band of baseballers - you sure have made it an enjoyable summer, and we who are your fans are looking forward to more baseball wonderfulness as you take on the Rangers.  But whoever wins that series, it doesn't matter, because the Yankees have been vanquished, and there will be at least one non-East team in the World Series.

But I do hope it's the Tigers!

Man is not free unless Government is limited

If you recognized that quote from Ronald Reagan's farewell address, give yourself a gold star. 

Now, many of you might think that this is the start of another rant against President Obama and all the other socialists that are running this country.  Although that would be an obvious and worthy place to direct more criticism, that is not where I am going with this post today.

Instead, I am directing it at Gov. Rick Snyder, and his proposal for the State of Michigan to require doctors to report to the state the Body Mass Index (BMI) of all children in the state.

Friends, this is where elections have consequences.  We all knew that Rick was a fiscal conservative and he has proven that since he was inagurated in January.  What most conservatives were willing to overlook was that he was a social liberal.  A social socialist, if you will.

The Governor appears to have no problem with big government when it comes to meddling in the private lives of individuals in this state.  Why is the business of the government what the BMI's of my kids are?  Of course, the answer from the big government Republicans is "we are paying for health care for a lot of these kids either through the insurance plans of their state employee parents or through the social welfare systems, so we have a vital interest in tracking that information, so we can form our policies appropriately".  Sounds all legal and proper doesn't it?

Well, if that sounds proper to you, then you have bought into the big government lie as well, because you have bought into the mindset that says "the government must provide the social safety net".  Or more broadly, "the government must provide the solution to every problem".  Ladies and gentlemen, this is socialism.  This is nanny-stateism at its most insidious.  It is this mindset that has let us to the edge of social, financial, and political ruin.  And unless we reject this thinking, our country will join all the others in the ash-heap of history who had freedom in their grasp, and traded it off for a bowl of stew named socialism (Gen. 25:29-34).

President Gerald Ford (no conservative, he) had it right in his address to Congress in August 1974 when he said "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."  This government, at all levels, continues to take everything we have.  Every right.  Every freedom.  Every dollar.  All in the name of enlarging the scope of its control over everyone.  Though he would never say it, this is what Gov. Snyder is doing.  The government has no business prying into the private relationship between a doctor and his patients, no matter how old those patients are.  Aren't we tired of the same old "it's for the children" rationalization for every new government program or initiative that comes along?  Haven't we learned that that isn't the reason at all?

Friends, this is not our birthright!  Our birthright as Americans is freedom, not slavery!  Freedom bought with blood and sweat and privation and death, because freedom is worth such things.

So no, Gov. Snyder, I don't want you prying into my children's personal information.  You can't know their BMI, their cholesterol, their weight, their music choices, or their reading habits.  You can't have them or their measurements.  My wife and I are the ones responsible for all these things, not you.  And the same is true for every other parent and child in this state.

Of Struts and Chryslers

Two weekends ago I had opportunity to drive my wife's van (a Dodge Grand Caravan), which I don't do very often.  This vehicle is 11 years old, has 155,000 miles on it, and is really starting to show it's age. But it still runs well.  She had been complaining about the front struts not being right and making strange noises, but I had not really driven it to see what she was talking about.

During this drive, which was about an hour of about 80% interstate and 20% surface streets getting to and from the interstate, I couldn't believe how bad it was.  It seemed that every ripple and tar strip in the road was going to bounce me off the road.  I called the mechanic on Tuesday and had it in Wednesday morning first thing.  Well, this began my education in the foibles of Chrysler minivans, circa 1996 to about 2004 (which I think they call "Gen. 2")

Wednesday after lunch the mechanic calls and says that the top strut mount is completely rusted through, and there is no way he can put a strut in there.  This is the spot in behind the wheel well where the top part of the strut attaches to the body/frame of the van.  Of course, I am now having visions of having to purchase a new vehicle for my wife in the next few days.  Then I remember a little tidbit of information I got a couple of months ago.  In my mind this is an example of how God acts in our lives and we don't even notice it.

At that time, we had had several major storms go through in the space of a week or so, and there was some serious water on the road.  My wife had driven home from her mom's after one of these storms, and upon arriving at home told me that the "transmission light" was on, and she was afraid the transmission was failing.  Well, what it really was was the "Check Engine" light, so I took it over to the local auto parts store and had them put their code reader on it to see what was going on.  It was nothing more than an oxygen sensor.  The clerk asked if we had driven it through any water lately (which obviously my wife had during the storms) and said that this was a common thing to happen.  During our conversation he said that he had owned a couple of Grand Caravans and had really liked them, but they had a problem with strut mounts rusting through.  My ears perked up at this and I told him I had a lot of rust on one my mine, and he told me that Chrysler had so many problems with it that they had made a little kit that you could install to fix it fairly cheaply.  Well, I filed that little bit of info away for later use, little knowing that I would need it really soon.  But God did.

So, back to the present, I mention this to my mechanic, and he says he will look into it, and lo and behold the dealer has a kit and so he is going to go ahead and see if it will work.  A day and a half later, after installing the repair kit (which he said worked better than he though it was going to), two new struts (completely shot, fluid completely out of them), a new tie rod on one side, and $1500, my 11 year old van now rides and handles like it's almost new again!  And I'm not making another car payment for the next 4 years!

On Saturday, wife goes out to a friend's house.  She gets back around midnight, and tells me "the (power) window won't close on the passenger side door".  Well, I wasn't going to go out at midnight to try to fix it.  We have already had trouble with these windows, and the drivers side doesn't work at all, but now the other window is stuck in the full down position.  So the next day after church I get on the internet and start searching, and wouldn't you know, Chrysler has had window motor problems with their minivans for a long time as well.  Indications are that it is a problem with the brushes in the motor, but of course you can't just buy the brushes, you have to buy the whole motor.  But I also found out that if you hold the switch in the "up" position while slamming the door, the window will move.  This did, in fact, work, and I was able to get the window up from the fully down and inside the door position to where I could pull it up and help the motor.  Banging on the motor with the handle of a screwdriver helped as well, and I got the window up.  So now the van is drivable in all weather conditions, not just when there is no rain in the forecast!

All I had to spend for that one was about $3.00 for the little door panel fasteners to get the inner panel put back on.

My conclusion is that cars are a pain, but I'm glad I don't have to walk to work.

Family Pride

I have to admit, I have been posting a lot this year about foolishness, stupidity, and downright idiocy, and I didn't want this blog to be all about that stuff, so I have been searching for some positive content that I could post.  And this morning it landed in my inbox.  This is my cousin Isaac (the fiddler) and one of the bands he plays in:

And the amazing thing is, he doesn't read a note of music.  He just makes it!

Al Gore: Eat less meat to fight global warming

From an article in The Politico

Al Gore wants society to ditch meat-heavy diets and go organic to combat global warming.
"Industrial agriculture is a part of the problem,” Gore said Friday during an interview with FearLess Revolution founder Alex Bogusky. “The shift toward a more meat-intensive diet,” the clearing of forest areas in many parts of the world in order to raise more cattle and the reliance on synthetic nitrogen for fertilizer are also problems, he added.

If AlGore is so concerned about "Global Warming" he can do two things today that would have a huge impact:

1. Stop writing and giving interviews to newspapers and magazines.  That would leave more trees available to cleanse carbon dioxide from the atomosphere and turn it into useful oxygen. It would also decrease electricity consumption needed to print his drivel, thus less coal would have to be burned to generate that electricity.  Not to mention all the gasoline and diesel fuel needed to fuel the vehicles that deliver these publications to their readers - lots of CO2 in those exhaust emissions.
2. Shut his fat gob.  That would decrease greenhouse gas totals in the atmosphere by at least 25%

Meanwhile, I'm going to have a steak for dinner this week in Al's honor.

Traffic Stop

I don't know if this is a true story or not, but I think it's funny nevertheless.

True story from a Kansas State Highway Patrol officer:

I made a traffic stop on an elderly lady the other day for speeding on U.S. 166 Eastbound at Mile Marker 73 just East of Sedan, KS.  I asked for her driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance.  The lady took out the required information and handed it to me.  In with the cards I was somewhat surprised (due to her advanced age) to see she had a conceal carry permit.  I looked at her and ask if she had a weapon in her possession at this time.

She responded that she indeed had a .45 automatic in her glove box.  Something---body language, or the way she said it---made me want to ask if she had any other firearms.  She did admit to also having a 9mm Glock in her center console.  Now I had to ask one more time if that was all. She responded once again that she did have just one more, a .38 special in her purse.  I then asked her what was she so afraid of.

She looked me right in the eye and said, "Not a damn thing!"

Kwame: Kilpatrick says Bing 'has a problem connecting with people'

Full Article Here

This headline in The Detroit News today.  Here are a few quotes:

"Economic development was the best it had ever been when I was there".
"City services worked better when I was there"
 And one of the reasons why the current mayor is not doing well: "they're talking about the old mayor every week."

Mayor Bing may well have a problem connecting with people.  But clearly, Kwame has a problem connecting with reality.

Kwame - just go away and leave Detroit alone.  She is better off without you there.