Al Franken: The Senate's Bad Joke

When I first read about Al Franken making a serious bid for the Senate from Minnesota, I reacted as if I heard the funniest joke ever. Now that it is official Al Franken will be Minnesota's newest Senator, I'm not laughing anymore.

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in Franken's favor and his opponent, the soon-to-be former Senator Norm Coleman, conceded the election to Franken, ending a legal battle lasting over half a year.

In addition to Franken's victory becoming reality, so also is the 60 seats the Democrats need to override future filibuster attempts, and that's the bad news from this story.

In the end, Al Franken was a joke when he began running for the Senate, and he remains a joke as he ascends to his new position in the Senate. Hopefully, come November, 2014, Minnesotans will have woken up to realize their junior Senator is indeed that, a complete joke.

Welcome, The Tree of Mamre

Patrick Wallace and his blog The Tree of Mamre have just joined the Bloggers for Sarah Palin blogroll. Welcome aboard, Mr. Wallace, great to have you in the fight for Sarah Palin.

Also, I saw a fascinating post at The Tree of Mamre about the meaning of being civilized. Highly recommended blog post.

Now isn't that interesting, chapter 22

I haven't blogged about the appointment of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice David Souter as of yet, but with this interesting story from Michelle Malkin, it's as good a time as any.

Mrs. Malkin reported of a recent decision by the Supreme Court that overturned a lower court's decision, ruling white firefighters in New haven, Connecticut were denied promotion unfairly due to race. The interesting thing is that Judge Sotomayor was a member of that lower court, and she endorsed the lower court's ruling.

And considering she is now a nominee to the Supreme Court, it's not only interesting, it's also equally ironic.

As for the nomination of Judge Sotomayor, conservatives are not nuts about her appointment, regarding her as a judicial activist who leans to the Left. Her supporters, most notably President Obama, have claimed she is an objective judge who's more than qualified. Of course, they tend to cite a more important reason: if confirmed, Sonia Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court. Here's my two cents on it:

1. It doesn't matter to me whether the justice of the highest court in the country, or any other judge for that matter, is a liberal or conservative. As long as that judge does what he or she is supposed to do, and that is uphold the Constitution without any prejudice or inclination to legislate from the bench, I have no complaints.
2. I don't like the motivation behind Judge Sotomayor's appointment, the attempt by some proponents to make history (as in 2008) or empathy being one of the things President Obama was looking for in a Justice. It leaves me suspicious of Judge Sotomayor's credentials, needless to say.

There's also another thing: even if Judge Sotomayor is confirmed, it won't have any short-term changes, as we'd look at one liberal justice replacing another liberal justice. Right now, I'm more worried what would happen should say Justice Scalia or Justice Kennedy decide to retire.

Well, that's it for my interesting punditry.

Coup? Takeover? Where?

Down south of the United States, in Central America, the nation of Honduras witnessed what has been called a coup. The President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, was removed from power by the Honduran Congress and transported to Costa Rica by the Honduran military. Leaders in other countries in the Western Hemisphere, including my own President, Barack Obama, and most notedly Hugo Chavez, the "President" of Venezuela (of whom Zelaya is an ally of), have denounced this apparent coup, which the media is already noting as the first "military takeover of a Central American government in 16 years".

But I'm seeing a problem here: Where has there been a coup? Where has there been a military takeover?

The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, remarked of his impression that "the long night of military dictatorships in central America was over", but what military dictatorship is he talking about? The Honduran Congress remains in control, not the military. Zelaya's political party, the Liberal Party, is still in charge in the Congress and the new President, Roberto Micheletti (formerly head of the Congress & a Liberal) will be serving until the end of Zelaya's term in January. And the Honduran Congress voted to strip Zelaya of his presidential powers; so what coup or military takeover is the media and the leaders of the Western Hemisphere talking about?

The root of the problem apparently has to do with a voter referendum in Honduras involving an attempt to rewrite the nation's Constitution that would allow Presidents to serve more than one term, a referendum Zelaya supported, and even after Honduras's Supreme Court ruled the effort unconstitutional, Zelaya continued pushing for it.

To me, it seems Zelaya was trying to stay in power even after being told he couldn't, so the Honduran Congress kicked him out. This isn't a coup, this isn't a military takeover, this is simply a peaceful transition. Unfortunately, Zelaya wants back in, and he's got Hugo Chavez and much of the hemisphere to back him.

The question now is what happens next. I hope the new President Micheletti can hold on to the seat until January.

The thieves struck again (with some help)

Yesterday in the House, an infamous bill was narrowly passed, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Known also as the Waxman-Markey bill and as a cap-and-trade bill, it has been described as the largest tax increase ever proposed.

Supposedly, the bill, if passed, will create more energy jobs, combat global warming pollution and achieve energy independence. It's a joke. The bill is simply one that would do more damage to the nation's economy and would bleed our wallets dry. Being it was based on questionable facts and research, it shouldn't have reached the floor of the House.

The Heritage Foundation gives you an idea of what the Waxman-Markey bill will do to businesses and families (particularly families of four). As the Heritage Foundation puts it, this bill is simply an energy tax, but it's a huge one that will increase year by year, if signed into law.

The bill was passed by a margin of 219-212, with all but 44 Democrats voting in favor and all but 8 Republicans voting against. To the 44 Democrats who voted against (and also to my Republican congressman), I thank you for voting not to impose this huge tax. To the 8 Republicans who voted in favor (Michelle Malkin has the names), you voted to steal my money, my family's money, my friends' money and my fellow Americans' money. You assisted a bunch of thieves with your vote. You are thieves because of your vote.

There is still hope the bill will not end up on the President's desk. It has to go through the Senate, and while it may be wishful thinking on my part, I'm enough of an optimist that I haven't given up just yet.

Grassroots News Minute (June 26th)

The video features news about the questionable activities of several BATFE agents and about the GAO's recent report about the Mexican drug cartels and where they supposedly get their guns.

I'm A Bicycling Man

You Are Bicycling

You are an energetic, driven person. You try to live a good life. You are industrious and determined. You happily and willingly do hard work. You are deeply philosophical. You are concerned with doing things the best way. You love freedom to explore and experiment. You don't like rules.

What Type of Transportation Are You?

I haven't done one of these quizzes in a long time. I do need to get back on a bike, though.

For Neda, the voice of Iran

She has become of the face of what has been happening in Iran. Doesn't matter what one calls it; protests, riots, unrest, rebellion, revolution, ever since Neda Agha Soltan was murdered in Iran four days ago by government militia troops, her name and, more importantly, her face have become the name and face of a movement in Iran which undeniably wants genuine change in their government.

What started out as a protest to the "re-election" of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad over the "alternative", Mir Hossein Mousavi, has also undeniably turned into something bigger, because you have Iranians who don't merely want a change of tenants in the President's house, they want liberty, freedom, democracy. Some still just want Ahmedinejad replaced by Mousavi, but many others much, much more than just a change of puppets.

As to what Neda was protesting in Tehran on June 20th, 2009, whether it was to protest the election results or the rule of the mullahs or both, I don't know. There was one little observational detail about her that caught my attention: she was 26 years old when she was killed. That's my age. And I have participated in protests recently in the form of Tea Parties (and will again within two weeks), against the growing, infringing power of the government.

If Neda were alive and in America, she would likely have been protesting the government at any one of the many Tea Parties held throughout the country and would be alright. But if I were in Iran, would I likely be involved in the protests going on in Iran, be willing to brave the dangers of assault, intimidation, imprisonment and death for the purpose of wanting real change, of wanting freedom and liberty?

When I see pictures of Neda Agha Soltan, I see a beautiful young woman who had the courage to face an oppressive, brutal regime and protest their egregious actions. And with her death, she has now become the defining voice (as her name meant) for a movement that I hope will not be put out by Ahmedinejad, Mousavi or their puppetmasters. May those Iranians who are fighting for freedom right now in Iran keep fighting the good fight.

And to Neda, rest in peace.

A note to fathers everywhere

To all you fathers out there, including my own dad, I hope you've been having a good Father's Day and are enjoying yourselves. Without you dads, what can we do, huh? Happy Father's Day.

Ohhhhh Brother No. 15: Guns! Guns! All these guns!

The new argument raised by gun control proponents the world over has been due to the "lax" gun laws in the United States, guns can get into other countries and cause untold and unspeakable violence. This argument was applied to Mexico with the violence from drug cartels down there, and now it is being applied to another country with similar problems of violence: Jamaica.

The big concern in Jamaica is over the gang violence that is apparently commonplace in the country. Mike Melia, in an article for the Associated Press, writes of the problem facing the Jamaicans in their efforts to stop the gun smuggling, but Mr. Melia also points out a few things:

1. Jamaican smugglers rely on "lax U.S. gun laws, corrupt customs inspectors and front men acting as buyers" (emphasis mine).
2. Florida's gun laws make it easy for Jamaicans to buy a legal gun and then smuggle it to Jamaica (emphasis mine).
3. "A vast majority" of the guns taken by Jamaican authorities are "submitted for tracing", and 80% of those than can be traced are traced back to the U.S. (emphasis mine).

Ohhhhh Brother! Actually, it's more than just an Ohhhhh Brother!, it's also a Good Grief! and a WTF! as well.

Instead of trying to focus all their efforts on trying to stop these smugglers, as well as enforcing the current gun laws in place in the U.S., somebody is playing a blame game with the so-called lax gun laws we have in America (specifically in Florida) and the easy accessibility to those so-called legal guns. And in addition, the same fuzzy math method used to get the statistic of 90% when arguing about the number of guns going into Mexico being traced to the U.S. is being applied to Jamaica as well.

How many of those seized by Jamaican authorities have actually been traced to the U.S.? How much enforcement of our current gun laws in dealing with Mexican & Jamaican smugglers is actually taking place? Do you see the agenda of the gun grabbers at work here, taking advantage of the horrible situation in those countries?

Grassroots News Minute (June 19th)

It's been a long time since I've embedded a Grassroots Minute video from the NRA-ILA via YouTube, so here it is:

While there is still something of a calm right now, a tidal wave of assaults on our individual right to keep and bear firearms is coming. In addition to Democrats in Congress and Attorney General Eric Holder, there's also the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the BATFE (not just on guns), and now the "objective" U.S. Conference of Mayors currently under the presidency of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, a member of Michael Bloomberg's so-called Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition. Wow, talk about objective right there.

Bottom line, this is another good fight we must keep fighting and not waver in, or we may lose it all on the domestic front.

What Hope Iran?

When I first heard of the elections in Iran between their current "President" Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and his opponent Mir Hossein Mousavi, I took about as much stock in it as I would have if it had been Raul Castro running for "President" in Cuba, or Saddam Hussein in Iraq, or (need I say it?) Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. As long as the mullahs remain in power in Iran, who gets "elected" to what office doesn't matter.

But recent news about riots and protests in Iran towards the so-called victory of Ahmedinejad to another term in "office" has led me to wonder what will become of the people of Iran. Mona Charen's recent column does a good job of explaining the situation in Iran, of the fact the mullahs (and Ahmedinejad) are very unpopular with the people, and of the support for Mousavi as the alternate to the mullahs' chosen candidate.

To see Iran removed of the shackles of the mullahs would be wonderful, to see a genuine regime change in Iran, a shift towards democracy there would be very much wonderful. The problem for me, as Ms. Charen also notes in her column, is whether Mousavi is actually better for the Iranian people. Unfortunately, I fear the people of Iran are putting their hopes in the wrong person, but I honestly don't know.

What I do know, or rather, what I know based on what I've read, is that the mullahs put their lot in with Ahmedinejad (and ensuring "victory" through possible fraud; should I be surprised here?) and are showing little to zero tolerance for dissent. What I also know is that my own President (or should it also be "President"?), Barack Obama, has cast his own lot in with the mullahs by not only expressing a wish for more "dialogue" with them, but also removing future funds for pro-democracy efforts in Iran.

Weasel Zippers has a post on the removal of funding in the upcoming 2010 State Department budget. There's the old phrase about being between a rock and a hard place, but with the Iranian people, it's like they're between multiple rocks and hard places. The title of Charles Krauthammer's latest (and equally superb) column describes their problem well: Hope and Change- but not for Iran.

Welcome, Uncommon Common Sense

Gary Wonning and his blog Politics, Common Sense and Other Rantings has joined the Bloggers for Sarah Palin blogroll. Welcome aboard, Gary, as we continue fighting the good fight for Sarah Palin. Also, one of Josh Painter's blogs, Mainstream Texas Conservative, had to be deleted. Sorry to see it go.

Targeted: Gerald Walpin

I saw Gerald Walpin appear on Glenn Beck's TV show yesterday, but I don't know for sure if this video features yesterday's interview. By all accounts, this guy was doing his job, and he ended up fired by the Obama administration, in an illegal matter. Then they tried to cover their bases by claiming Mr. Walpin is senile, something Glenn Beck was able to refute on the show. Watch this video.

I wish Mr. Walpin the best as he continue to fight the good fight against the machine. Also, if you want to know about the cause of Mr. Walpin's firing, Michelle Malkin has a column about it with links to more information.

Update (9:35 PM EDT): For some odd reason, I couldn't embed the video on this blog, so I've linked to the video. Also, this isn't from yesterday's show, but no less important.

Help erase Sarah Palin's legal debts

Since the beginning of this week, the bloggers at Conservatives 4 Palin have been holding a Webathon to raise money for Governor Sarah Palin's legal debts. The goal is $500,000, and so far over $92,000 has been raised.

I've already sent a donation, and Team Sarah has also joined the fundraising efforts. If you can help, please go to Conservatives 4 Palin and follow the instructions on the top right, where the webathon banner is located. And please spread the word to everybody you know.

The reason for the legal fund in the first place was because a bunch of idiots decided to create some financial problems for Governor Palin by filing frivolous ethics complaints. Again, please donate if you can, and please, spread the word.

Welcome, Blatherings Blog (and everybody I forgot)

Kate at Blatherings Blog has just joined the Bloggers for Sarah Palin blogroll. Welcome to the blogroll, Kate. I also want to extend the welcome to other bloggers who joined the blogroll while I was on vacation, including Tami at Moms 4 Sarah Palin, the bloggers at Conservative Matters, Max D at Governor Palin 4 President, Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes, Irate_Nate at The Irate Nation, MLWELZ at Republican Catholics, Rob Harrison at The Spyglass, Steve at Motor City Times, Randy Highsmith at Palin 2012, the bloggers at Pundit & Pundette and Don Stott at Musket Balls. Sorry I didn't welcome you guys earlier, and if I forgot anybody, I'm really sorry.

An odd day

Yesterday could be described as interesting, but I personally found it to be an odd day. I got up early in the morning, had breakfast (or whatever constitutes breakfast for me), and was looking forward to the afternoon when at the corner of the foot of the stairs, I spotted a snake. That's right, a snake. A garter snake, to be precise. Not big like a rattlesnake, but big enough. The thing got in through a hole somewhere in the house.

My mom was in the kitchen with my nephew when I had the bright idea of letting it be known there was a snake in the house. And my mom, with her fear of snakes (why didn't I see it coming?) reacted with a big scream. As my mom bordered on hysteria, I realized I had to stop the snake before it got in between the walls. With my shoe being handy, I had to bash the snake to death.

The snake now dead and my sister having removed its remains, I had the unenviable task of cleaning up the mess. The smell of that mess was re-e-e-e-e-e-l bad, like it was rotting sardines. It's one of those times when you just have to say, Thank God for Clorox!. After cleaning up the area of the snake's guts, applying the Clorox and then applying a spray to cover the smell of the Clorox (and also cleaning up my shoe), I went out to do some errands.

Later in the day, I went out again for some McDonald's (no, the snake-bashing didn't work up an appetite). That evening, I played softball for my church's team. Not one of my better days; I got to base on a lousy hit (runner on first was out at second), and on my second at-bat, I hit the ball better, but didn't run fast enough to reach the base. We lost the game by 10 runs, but it didn't matter; I had a great time playing softball, as always.

As for the problem with the snake, the hole in the house was taken care of, for the time being. Needless to say, that's how yesterday turned out. Sure was an odd day.

Happy Flag Day

Anyone who thinks this flag is not the most beautiful flag ever designed has got to be blind. I'm proud to be an American, that I can regard this as my flag. May she remain a symbol for the God-given freedom we have, that she represents so beautifully.

By the way, if you would prefer better Flag Day tributes, Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs has an excellent tribute featuring immortal pictures with the Stars & Stripes, m at LGF 2.0 has one featuring the lyrics to the classic George M. Cohan song You're A Grand Old Flag, USA_Admiral at In a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World has a tribute including the Pledge of Allegiance, and Wyatt Earp at Support Your Local Gunfighter has a picture of a lovely young lady showing her patriotism (and in a very nice way, in my opinion).

And, I almost forgot, a very happy birthday to the United States Army. I can never thank you guys enough for all that you do.

Opposition for Evan Bayh

One of my U.S. Senators, Evan Bayh, is up for re-election to the Senate for a third term in 2010, and he now has a possible opponent for next year, Indiana State Senator Marlin Stutzman.

The State Senator confirmed to WANE-TV in Fort Wayne last week of his intention to seek Senator Bayh's seat in the Senate. The main theme of his campaign is said to be about the increasing size of government.

For Mr. Stutzman, going up against Senator Bayh will be an uphill battle, something he knows already. There are at least two other Republicans in the possible running for the Senate seat, so Mr. Stutzman will have to win a primary battle in eleven months before competing against Senator Bayh. In addition, there's the fact Senator Bayh has a pretty sizable war chest of about $11 million if he needs to spend any money for re-election.

Personally, I'll support State Senator Stutzman, a conservative state legislator, over Senator Bayh, a liberal U.S. Senator, any day of the week. Anything is possible, so I'm hoping 12 years will be enough for this U.S. Senator, as 18 years was long enough for his dad.

Rush Limbaugh on free speech

A video of Rush Limbaugh speaking about free speech has been shown, I expect, all over the blogosphere, and after seeing the video, I had to show it here.

And in case there's no way you can see the video here, here's a link to it.  Also, Rush Limbaugh's site has the video and transcript.

Nutcases and nothing more

First, there was the murder of abortionist Dr. George Tiller by a man with a history of mental problems (and a criminal record), and now there is the murder of Stephen Tyrone Johns, a security guard at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. by an old white supremacist.

However, Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs has taken the ball (no pun intended) and run away with his assertions that these cases are proof of the rising threat of right wing extremism.  Others, like the bloggers at LGF 2.0, say that the shooter at the Holocaust Museum, James Von Brunn, is actually more of the left-wing, not the right.  Michelle Malkin has taken the neutral route, stating Von Brunn is neither left nor right, but just "loony".

Whether Von Brunn is left-wing or right-wing is, in one important respect, immaterial.  Why?  Because the greater threat, Islamic extremism, is still here and still towering over us.  Actual right-wing extremists remain on the fringe and few in number, so I'm not going to worry too much about those nuts.

As for Charles Johnson, he is using these cases to serve his own agenda: trying to back up his stances on the infamous DHS report concerning the so-called rising threat of right-wing extremism.  As usual, unfortunately, Johnson does no good with this.  He couldn't have done a better job if he were an active fifth columnist.

As for Von Brunn and George Tiller's killer, Scott Roeder, I hope they fry.  They committed murder and should spend the rest of their lives in prison.  They are also nuts, and not representative of the political Right, but they are representative of isolated fringe groups too far and few in between to be a serious threat of any kind.

On a final note, it should be noted Michelle Malkin in her same blog post linked here on this blog doesn't buy into the "vindication" crap either.

Alternatives to Sarah Palin

In case I haven't said this before here, if Sarah Palin decided to run for President in the next election today or tomorrow or January 1,2012, I'd join her camp in a heartbeat.  However, since this is June 12th,2009 and anything can happen, I unfortunately have to consider the possibility she might not run in 2012.  And if the latter would happen, who else would I'd be willing to support?  I've come up with five people who have my vote if they ran:

1. Tom Tancredo- My first choice during the Republican primary in 2008, the former Congressman from Colorado is a strong conservative, not just with illegal immigration and border security.  The Second Amendment, abortion, the FairTax, the threat of radical Islam, foreign policy, energy, education (including homeschooling), Israel, health care, why not enough Republicans (or conservatives) supported him, I'll probably never know.

2. Alan Keyes- After listening to his keynote speech at the Fort Wayne Tea Party and talking to Tea Partiers last April, I discovered he is much closer to my stances on issues than I previously thought, especially when it comes to the threat of radical Islam.  With abortion, I already knew how strong a pro-lifer he is, and with his concerns for the Constitution, he would make a great choice.

3. Fred Thompson- My second choice for the 2008 GOP primary, he also holds strong conservative credentials.  It was what he wrote about federalism that convinced me to support his campaign in late December 2007, and he remains a sound conservative voice, although I seriously doubt he'll run again three years from now.

4. John Bolton- When it comes to foreign policy and international issues, this guy is spot on.  Considering that what's going on outside our borders should hold high priority on our lists of concerns, he knows what needs to be done.  I don't know where he stands on other issues, but knowing he will stand in defense of the Constitution, I'd be willing to bet on him.

5. Ted Nugent- I know there is no way he will run anytime in the near future, but every time I've heard him speak or when I've read any of his books, there is no doubt in my mind he would make a better President than most people whose names are brought up when considering candidates for the office.

Letterman's "sorry" about the jokes

There must have been quite a response to David Letterman's outrageous jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter that the late-night talk show host apologized, sorta.

It's nice to know Letterman would never makes jokes about raping or having sex with 14 year old girls as he said.  It's nice to know he's willing to admit he's made mistakes left and right and is guilty of poor taste as he said.  It's nice to know he's not necessarily proud of the jokes he uses, that it's all just for a laugh.  And it's nice to know he's apologized for his jokes.  His apology, however, is unacceptable, because he is not sorry.  He did not apologize.  It was all a joke.

Would he have joked that way about Hillary Clinton and her daughter?  Or Michelle Obama and her daughters?  Would he have then "apologized" for his jokes, for which he would not have been necessarily proud of?

Miss California stripped

The Miss California USA organization saw fit to strip Carrie Prejean of her title, claiming she wasn't living up to her end of the bargain, so to speak, as far as pageant obligations go.  Statements from the executive director of the organization, Keith Lewis, and the owner, Donald Trump, testify to their reasons.  Interesting thing, though, as far as Miss Prejean was concerned, there were no problems.

Personally, I suspect less than honorable reasons behind the decision to strip Miss Prejean of the title, reasons related to her stance on gay marriage.  They couldn't make the claim of inappropriate behavior, a.k.a. her "scandalous" photos, stick, so now the claim of breach of contract has been brought up.

A former director with the Miss California USA organization, Shanna Moakler, expressed a renewal of her faith in the pageant because of this action.  Well, that probably puts her in a minority; I frankly regard the pageant once again as a sham.  Whatever worth these pageants had apparently left a long time ago.

As for Miss Prejean, I wish her all the best in her endeavors.  She deserved better than this; much better.

While I was away...

...there were a number of events that took place, and I want to put my two cents worth about them.

The murder of Dr. George Tiller

When this abortionist was acquitted in Kansas for his late-term abortions, I was frustrated.  When I found out he had been murdered by an individual with mental problems, I was surprised.  It's hard for me to be sorry about his death because of the fact he was a late-term abortionist.  A lot of unborn kids died at his hands, through brutal methods.  The claim that he helped countless women by performing abortion is a joke; we live in a country where our knowledge of medical science is to such an extent that why should we be considering the scenario of choosing to save either the mother's life or the unborn child's?  Can't we save both of them?

The media, of course, certainly took advantage of the opportunity to use the murder and paint the pro-life movement as a bunch of right-wing extremists and that we're to blame for Dr. Tiller's murder.  Last time I checked, a man with a history of mental problems was responsible for the murder.  Hopefully, justice will be served for the family of Dr. Tiller.

The death of David Carradine

This is one of those moments when you're watching the news and you see a line you don't expect to see.  I remember first seeing David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues.  I had never seen (or even heard of) the original Kung Fu series, and wouldn't for years.  I also remember him in the TNT film Last Stand at Saber River starring Tom Selleck and David's brother Keith Carradine.  He was undeniably a good actor, and it didn't take much to convince me of that fact.  RIP, Mr. Carradine.

Twenty years after Tiananmen

The day I came back home, people in China continued to remind the Chinese government of something they have long denied: 20 years ago, a massive student protest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square resulted in a massacre.  The number of protestors killed during the massacre remains unknown for sure.  The government continues to claim it was a rebellion they put down, with only a handful of deaths.  Two decades later, the ChiComs continue to try and keep the truth about Tiananmen in a metaphorical bottomless pit, but fortunately, many Chinese still remember and have not forgotten what happened.  May we never forget the truth of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and why it happened.

The Great Trek Out West: Stranded

When I last left you in my story of The Great Trek Out West, I mentioned about how the last leg of the trip would've been great if we had made it there.  Here's the story.

We left Palmdale at about 6 P.M. Pacific time, heading for Utah and planning to do some sightseeing there, and in Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota.  About 3 1/2 into the drive, however, the car quit on us.  We were out on I-15, less than a hundred miles away from Las Vegas, in the Mojave Desert in the middle of the night, and we were stranded.

We were a very short walking distance from a call box, so we were able to get a tow truck to pick up the car.  We were driven to the town of Baker, California, roughly 20 miles away from the break down.  About 24 hours later, we got news that it would take a few days for the car to be fixed and would cost us a lot of money.  We considered the options, and because there was virtually no other viable alternative left to us, we decided to get the car fixed.

The town of Baker, California.  There was virtually nothing to do there; there were virtually no newspapers or magazines even.

The motel we stayed in for more than a week.  A nice place with reasonable rates, but after about nine days, it did add up.

The Taco Bell in Baker is one of the best Taco Bells I've ever been to.  And whenever I was in the mood for a Cherry Coke, there was always the nearby Chevron.

Don't know if that's the largest thermometer in America.  The neighboring Big Boy had a great all-you-can-eat breakfast deal.  

There were as many as seven jackrabbits outside the window of our motel room.  Don't see these critters in Indiana, at least not with those big ears.

For the most part, all I did was watch TV (they had HBO and I got to see Get Smart a few times), play cards (I'm a master at Crazy Eights), read books (namely Fleeced) and head out in desert weather to eat.  Everybody there was nice, and the town itself is a nice place, but needless to say, I couldn't wait for the car to be fixed.  Almost exactly nine days after the car broke down, we left Baker for good and headed for home.

It felt absolutely great to be out on the road.

My first visit ever to the Silver State.  If only we had stopped at one of the casinos we passed by, so I could've made a killing at the slot machines.

Although it was getting dark, we still got to see Hoover Dam as we drove by.  Sorry about blurriness of the picture.

Some beautiful spots of Coconino National Forest near Sedona, Arizona.  I took these pictures on the way to Phoenix, but we drove through Arizona on the way back, so it works.

Entering Texas, and no, I was not thinking of The Yellow Rose of Texas.  Well, not yet at least.

Entering Oklahoma; there's something about this state that is appealing.  By the way, if your ever at either Exit 71 or Exit 108 off of I-40 and you see the Cherokee Restaurant & Trading Post, go there.  They serve great buffalo burgers and have nice merchandise.

We were crossing the mighty Mississippi River into Illinois.  Couldn't resist taking the picture.

It took us about 48 hours to get back home.  On the whole, it was a great trip, and even though we were away longer because of the car trouble, the whole thing in Baker also showed me that God was watching out for us.  We were close to a call box (and pretty close to a town) when the car broke down, things were quite tolerable in the town, we were able to take care of things financially, and we were able to get back home with no trouble.  It could've been a lot worse.

In the end, I'm just glad to be back home.  Hope I didn't bore you guys with my long story.

David Letterman is "scared of Sarah Palin"

Sarah Palin was in New York not too long ago, and the response showed how popular she remains.  Now I didn't see David Letterman on TV last night, but apparently he saw fit to sexually debase Sarah with his top-10 list, particularly number two.

Daniel Terrapin at Conservatives4Palin has the story, plus also a response from Governor Palin. The term "sexist pervert" describes Letterman well in this case.  But there is also another thing to consider here.  A local radio talk show host in Fort Wayne, Pat White, explained succinctly (in my opinion) the reason for the continuing attacks on Sarah Palin, to quote him: "They are scared of Sarah Palin".

In any case, this is one more reason why watching David Letterman's late-night show is a waste of time.  I think I'll try The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien tonight.

The Great Trek Out West: Palmdale

First off, I know I was supposed to present the next chapter of my trek out west yesterday, but I fell asleep before I could get to it, so here it is today.

After the NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Phoenix, the family headed west to Southern California to visit relatives there, including my grandmother.  We stayed in Palmdale for over a week; didn't go out a lot during that period and I didn't take pictures of the area, except for the Blackbird AirPark in Palmdale.

No, those aren't ants on the ground, those are my parents.

Man, is it big!

What a sight to behold, the magnificent F-14.

The people who design aircraft like this are real artists.

Now, this is a beauty!

How would you like to be facing this at 70,000 feet?

After nine days, we left Palmdale for the last leg of the trip, and it would've been great, if we had made it.  To be continued.....

Fighting the United States of Europe, Part 10: Europe votes Right

For myself, there's still hope for Europe, as the recent series of elections for European Parliament seems to show.

Political parties said to lean to the political Right, including notably the Dutch PVV (Party for Freedom; Geert Wilders' party), the UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party), the British Conservative Party and the BNP (British National Party) made gains during the elections, while parties said to lean to the Left, including most notably the British Labour Party and the French Socialist Party, lost seats.

Except in Greece, the Right made notable gains throughout the Continent, especially parties known to oppose the European Union like the UKIP.  What I get from the this news is basically this: on the one hand, it doesn't change the sphere of influence within the European Parliament, as individual political parties must band together as groups in order to affect policy in Brussels, and the major groups there remain solidly pro-European.

On the other hand, it shows how disaffected Europeans seem to be with the EU, on account voter turnout in these elections were at an all-time low (amazing when also considering the efforts to try and increase turnout through ads, commercials and even on YouTube).  Add to that all but one of the nations shifted more to the Right through their votes, and you have the potentially strong possibility of a continent of nations not too keen on becoming the U.S.E..

As for Britain, the election results have been so bad for the Labour Party that Prime Minister Gordon Brown might end up in a major battle to remain head of Labour and subsequently continue to reside at 10 Downing Street in London.  In the end, the EU's popularity is definitely down the drain, if there's nothing else to draw from the results of this year's elections.

The Great Trek Out West: Phoenix

Well, here's the story of my trek out west.  I left on May 13th with my parents bound for Phoenix to attend the NRA's Annual Meetings & Exhibits.  We arrived two days later and stayed for another two days.

There's nothing like a good hotel with a good restaurant located next door.  At the US Airways Center, I purchased copies of the books Surrender Is Not An Option by John Bolton, Fleeced by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann & Twice Adopted by Michael Reagan (among other books), and waited in line for the authors to sign them.

While in line to get Fleeced, Mr. Morris called to find out if his wife liked the film Angels & Demons.  I wonder if she liked it.  As for the book, Fleeced is quite an expose on some of the things taxpayers are getting screwed over on.

When it comes to international matters and all things UN-related, Mr. Bolton's two cents on the subjects are worth listening to.  I haven't read Surrender Is Not An Option yet, but I won't put it on the shelf and forget about it.

The surprising thing about the exchange between Mr. Reagan and my dad, who was with me at the time, was their talking about mutual acquaintances in California.  Twice Adopted, by the way, is an inspirational and helpful book; highly recommended.  The next morning, I went to attend the Annual Members' Meeting.

Waiting for the Meeting to start.  While waiting, we saw quotes on the screen involving the Second Amendment by notables such as Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt, Harlon Carter and others.

There were a few people there.

The outgoing NRA President, John Sigler, giving his last annual report.  Thank you for your service, Mr. Sigler.  On the whole, it was a good meeting that went by pretty quickly.

While at the meeting, my parents purchased a copy of Ted Nugent's latest book Ted, White and Blue and had it signed.  They've read it already and give it high marks.  That's high up on my must-read list as well.

The exhibits at Phoenix were fascinating, especially the handguns, where I paid particular attention to the exhibits at Glock, Charter Arms, Springfield Armory, Taurus and FNH-USA.  Since I have a lot of pictures from the trip, so tomorrow, I'll continue on about the Great Trek.

D-Day 2009

I wasn't able to traditionally observe D-Day this year because of my being on the road for most of today, but I did come across accounts of veterans of the invasion at Normandy 65 years ago today in a couple of newspapers.

In the Springfield (Missouri) News-Leader, three local residents talk about their experiences at Omaha and Utah Beaches, at the hedgerows and doing what they had to do.

In the Belleville (Illinois) News-Democrat, a Coulterville, IL resident relates his experience, good and bad, during WWII, including his brief time at Omaha Beach.

And finally in the Terre Haute (Indiana) Tribune-Star, a local businessman attempts to keep alive the memory of D-Day and the history of WWII alive, especially for his family.

To all those who survived D-Day in 1944 and are living today, thank you for braving the beaches and beyond.  And to those who died on the beaches and beyond and since then, rest in peace, and thank you.

Everybody, I am here

I just got back from my trek out west, and I'll have more to tell (with pictures as well) tomorrow.  Glad to be back, to say the least.  Until tomorrow.