The Hamburger Store

New National Defense Policy: Unite the World!

What should we do about Iran?

We learned this week that Obama was briefed on the plot in June to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States. 

In June?

And it hits the media now?

Now that Eric Holder is awaiting a subpoena and under fire for his part in Fast and Furious?  What timing!

Have no fear.  The Obama administration is on the case.  (Cue Kumbaya...)

"It's critically important that we unite the world in the isolation of and dealing with the Iranians," Vice President Joe Biden said on "The Early Show" Wednesday. "That's the surest way to be able to get results."

Better than sanctions, eh?  Not.

"Unite the world?"  Really? Delusional much?  Quote of the day to Investor's Business Daily:

What will we do? Cut off a few more bank accounts? Ask for more meaningless sanctions? We bomb Libya, the mouse that roared, but won't even send so much as an iPhone to Iranian dissidents who share a common enemy — Tehran.

In 2009, when Iranian dissidents risked their lives to demonstrate against the gray-beard mullahs oppressing them, Tehran paused briefly as the Soviet Union did in Hungary in 1956. Seeing no Western support for the uprising, Tehran unleashed its security apparatus to suppress and murder — much as Moscow ordered the tanks to roll into Budapest. Now we are Iran's target.

Anybody but Obama in 2012.

SIGIS Endorses Barrow Peacock, Senate District 37 (UPDATED with Comment From Mr. Peacock)

Let's talk local politics for a minute. 

My good friend and most excellent state Senator, Buddy L. Shaw, is not seeking re-election for District 37.  He's not term limited, he's just not seeking re-election.  He has worked hard for Louisiana for years in both education and in political service and I don't begrudge his retirement one bit.  I do hate to lose him in the senate, though.

Running for his seat on the Republican ticket are Barrow Peacock and Rep. Jane Smith.  Rep. Smith is term limited but apparently not ready to go home.

SIGIS is endorsing Barrow Peacock in this race. He's a conservative Republican and I believe right for the job.

Rep. Smith has made some bad votes that preclude my support for her.  She voted FOR lifetime benefits for legislators who have served ten years or more.  To my mind, public service is just that:  public service.  It's not a career, or shouldn't be, and it should not be your source for lifetime benefits.  Seems egregious to me.

She voted in favor of the unions in HB 204 to conceal the collective bargaining process from taxpayers.

Via Northwest Tea Party Alliance, she voted FOR all of these tax increases:

• Increased the fee on Driver's License (HB219: Act 419; 2005)
• Voted to impose a 2.8% State Sales Tax on business utilities and other items = $160 MILLION (HB 1 Act No. 4, 2004 E.S.)
• Voted to impose a fee on other than new tires – (HB 846 Act No. 846, 2004 R.S.)
• Voted to extend the authority of colleges to raise fee up to 3% a year - (HB 993; 2004 R.S.)
• Voted to authorize the imposition of fees on aquaculture operations - (HB 1192; Act No. 865, 2004 R.S.)
• Voted to authorize a fee for conducting Medicare surveys - (HB 1391; Act No. 558, 2004 R.S.)
• Voted to authorize the LA Tax Commission to impose fees for services - (HB 1419; Act No. 285, 2004 R.S.)
• Voted to authorize an additional fee on shrimpers - (HB 1711; Act No. 904, 2004 R.S.)
• Voted to increase the tax on the sale of pesticide - (HB 1396; Act No.120; 2003 R.S.)
• Voted to increase the tax for engaging in beekeeping - (HB 1400; Act No.122; 2003 R.S.)
• Voted to increase the tax on services provided by the Horticulture Commission - (HB 1402; Act No.123; 2003 R.S.)
• Voted to increase the tax warehouse businesses - (HB 1472; Act No.172; 2003 R.S.)
• Voted to increase the tax for shipping sweet potatoes - (HB 1493; Act No.134; 2003 R.S.)
• Voted to increase the tax for the sale of feed - (HB 1652; Act No.173; 2003 R.S.)
• Voted to increase the tax for selling seeds - (HB 1675; Act No.175; 2003 R.S.)
• Voted to impose a 3.9% Sales Tax on food and utilities = $455 MILLION (HB 169; Act 22; 2002 R.S.)
• Voted to impose a Personal Income Tax by eliminating education tax credit = $18 MILLION (HB 238; Act 25; 2002 R.S.)
• Voted to impose a 4-cent Cigarette Tax = $14.2 MILLION - (HB 167; Act 21; 2002 R.S.)
• Voted to impose an additional 12-cent Cigarette Tax Increase = $44.6 MILLION - (HB 157; Act 19; 2002 R.S.)
• Voted to impose a Driver's License Tax = $4 MILLION - (HB 100; 2002 R.S.)
• Voted to impose a Trailer Tax Increase = $2.1 MILLION - (HB 244; 2002 R.S.)
• Voted to increase taxes on tobacco = $18 MILLION - (HB 117; 2000 R.S.)
• Voted to increase taxes by reducing excess itemized deduction & education tax credit = $88 MILLION - (HB 299; 2000 R.S.)
• Voted to increase personal income tax = $750 MILLION - (HB 295; 2000 R.S.)
• Voted to increase sales tax on food and utilities = $110 MILLION - (HB 140; 2000 R.S.)
• Voted for Car Rental Tax = $5 MILLION - (HB 193; 2000 R.S.)
• Voted for Sales Tax on food and utilities = $330 MILLION (HB 36; 2000 E.S.)
• Voted to tax certain LLCs = $2.4 MILLION (HB 285; 2000 R.S.)

 She also voted to extend legislators terms, for private insurance companies to pay for contraception and abortion pills, and against school choice.

This week I received a mailer from her campaign in which she says her opponent, Barrow Peacock, is "open minded" about abortion and marriage, totally misrepresenting what Mr. Peacock has publicly stated:



(Video courtesy of NWTPA)

Smith's voting record is here.

From Barrow Peacock's website on the issues:

• Vote "NO" To New Taxes
• Limit the Size of State Government
• Create a "JOB FRIENDLY" Louisiana
• Promote Conservative Values in Louisiana
• Support Term Limits
• Support Our Veterans
• Oppose ALL attempts to bring back Stelly tax
• Place a priority on and secure complete funding for the 3132 Extension
• Protect our senior citizens
• Oppose taxpayer funded bailouts
• Support Barksdale Air Force Base

SIGIS thinks it's time for Jane Smith to retire.  Vote for Barrow Peacock.

Added:  In an email from Mr. Peacock he assures me, "I am Pro-Life and believe marriage is between a Man and woman."  Conservative values.  Jane Smith "is lying" about his stance on these issues, he says.

I believe she is.

Live-Blogging the WaPo/Bloomberg Debate...Will the Electricity Go Off Again? (UPDATED!)

So I'll watch the Rangers on TV but listen to the debate.  Best of both worlds?  Last time I live-blogged a debate my power went off.  It was a sign from the political gods that I needed to back off.  I did.  The power came back on as soon as the debate was over.  True story.

And not that I want you to leave, but Legal Insurrection is also live-blogging.  I'm in and out over there, too.

As I hear it, Cain is going after Romney tonight.  And Romney is riding high, I guess, after the endorsement by Christie.  As Stacy says, RINOs run in herds.

So stay tuned.  As bitchy as my mood has been, live-blogging of this debate ought to be fun.

Opening:  Here's Charlie Rose setting things. up.  Standard rules.  I have the Rangers on the TV.  Scores posted here too.  Politics and baseball.  All American!   The live-stream on Bloomberg is weird.  Sort of off-sync.

Herman Cain gets first go with an explanation of his 9-9-9 plan.  The candidates are seated at a table this time.  Maybe that'll help Perry not look so blustery.  Perry announces some plan he "put out today" that nobody has heard of yet, it seems.

Romney taking the first shot at Obama.  No executive experience, etc.  Ugh.  I just can't get enthusiastic about Mitt.  He's so bland.

Perry is talking about opening up domestic energy production.  "We've got to have a president that is willing to stand up and pull back those regulations...".  Ah.  Perry says Mitt has had six years to lay out a plan so he, Perry, hasn't had as much time to lay out a plan.  Excuses.

Bachmann gets a question on Wall Street executives.  She pushes back to the federal government who pushed sub-prime loans and the community reinvestment act.  Barney Frank.  Why does Romney always look smug?

7:15:  Newt is here!   "Virtually every American has a reason to be angry."  He says some of the OWS are migrant activists and some are closely aligned with the Tea Party.  Fire Bernanke!  Fire Geithner!  he says.

I'll differ with Newt on the Tea Party comparison.  I don't remember any Tea Party protesters getting arrested for defecating on police cars.

Newt is blasting the media again for not coming after the Fed.

To Santorum:  What would you do RIGHT NOW to create jobs?  "...a pro-manufacturing jobs plan."  What IS that?

To Huntsman.  He says we need to regain our industrial base.  And now everyone is squabbling about who is the natural gas capital.  All that means to me is that we need to drill more.  Open exploration!

Back to Newt on Medicare:  Half of all Medicare spending is done in the last two years of life.  Heh- no wonder ObamaCare has death panels.

Newt points to the new recommendations on prostate testing and he even says "death panels".  Ooooooo.  He says Palin was "attacked unfairly."  Good for Newt.

To Bachmann:  Do you think that Americans are getting the most for their money in Medicare spending?

Bachmann - Medicare is going broke.  We have to deal with it.  "We asked Obama his plan", she says.  Obama "mumbled" and didn't answer.  Bachmann contends that Obama intends for Medicare to collapse so everyone will go into Obamacare.  Good response from her.

Why is Huntsman here?  What's the Rangers score? Rangers are up 1-0!   First inning.

7:25: Huntsman:  I thought 9-9-9 was the price of a pizza!  Much laughter.  Lame.

Cain wants to respond.  "9-9-9 will pass and it's not the price of a pizza."  He comes after Huntsman.  Good for Cain!  Good come back.

The question to Cain is who he goes to for political advice.  "The American people" he says, and he lists well know economists.  He says his 9-9-9 plan did not come off of a pizza box.  Rich Lowrie is his lead economist.

The question to Romney is what would he do differently to avoid a financial crisis.  He claims it's a hypothetical question yet says he would NOT call Geithner and ask him how the economy works.  "Clearly if you think the entire financial system is about to collapse you take steps to keep that from happening."  He says he is not interested in bailing out institutions.

"Would you or would you not be open to another Wall Street bailout?"  No direct answer.  The moderator is arguing with him.  Now two moderators are arguing with him.  Mitt says he would not keep Bernanke.  "I'm not even sure I'm the nominee yet!" he exclaims.  He uses Harvard and Columbia advisors.  Of course.

Charlie Rose:  "As far as you're concerned there is no institution too big to fail."  Romney says bailouts of individual institutions do not interest him.

Cain says he agrees with Romney on bailouts.  The money was discretionary and not done equitably.  "The administration was at fault," he says.    So he supports bailouts?  If done equitably?

Newt jumps in.  "We are not any better prepared today for a crisis of that scale..." because the same people are in charge.

Is Perry still there?

7:35:   Ron Paul:  "This whole system is all messed up."  Dude.

Commercial break.  Someone has gone to wake Perry up.

7:40:   Out come the Reagan video clips.  It's out of context on tax hikes.  And Perry gets the first lob.  Perry has read Reagan's diary.  Perry seems to know this is out of context but can't articulate it well.  He goes on to explain the problems in Washington.  He gets a little applause with his advocacy of a balanced budget amendment.

To Romney:  What if the super committee can't agree?  Doesn't that demand a compromise?  Romney says he can't tell by the clip what the rest of the context was.  The answer, says Romney, is "to cut federal spending" and to have a balanced budget amendment and to get our economy going again.  Get corporations investing in America again.

The third moderator pulls back to the video clip and cuts.  Don't cut defense, says Romney.  Don't raise taxes.  Don't take more money from the American people so government can spend it.  He puts the onus back on the super committee to get the economy going again.  Applause.  Rose is incredulous:  "Without ANY increase in revenue?"

Newt interrupts.  Classic.  "They adopt a truly stupid bill" in which they say they'll either shoot themselves in the head or cut off their right leg.  Wonderful!

Bachmann with her lone wolf in the wilderness speech.  As if she's the only one in Washington who thinks the federal government is off the rails.

I'm not sure that pointing out that she's a tax lawyer works much for Bachmann.  Charllie Rose:  "Cutting back on spending in your opinion will do it?"  Incredulous again.  He's so smug.

"That's ONE piece of the plan" she says.

Moderator to Cain:  she questions the 9-9-9 plan and cites Bloomberg's analysis.  Cain:  "The problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect."  Laughter.  It makes assumptions we did not make, he says.  "It expands the base," he explains.  His plan does not pivot on the existing tax code.  It's revenue neutral, he says.  "Why should all Americans pay more" she asks.  Hello?  WTF?  Why shouldn't all Americans pay taxes?

Bachmann:  "The 9-9-9 plan isn't a jobs plan, it's a tax plan."  She says it could lead to a VAT and it gives the feds a new revenue stream.  OMG.  "When you take the 9-9-9 plan and turn it upside-down, well, the devil is in the details."  Did she really go there?  Satan Jokes!

7:50:   Huntsman is back on.  Rangers are still 1-0.

I think the moderator is asking a question but she's talking waaayyyy tooooo long.

Perry eschews China questions and says "we need to get America workin' again!"  And sounds like he's been practicing.   Nice spiel.

Who in the hell is this David Cote with his video question?  He needs a speech class.

Someone lit Santorum on fire about repealing ObamaCare.  Where's that guy been?  Damn!  He came after Mitt on waivers and makes the valid point that no state will do that.  Romney says he'll "repeal ObamaCare on Day Two" with a reconciliation bill.

All of a sudden the whole table has had triple shots of espresso and are firing off on ObamaCare and repeals.

8:05:  My blog stats are so lame...why am I live-blogging this?  Only 13 people have looked at my blog in the past hour.

Nekkid people coming up.

Did that work?

8:10: And they're back.  Longest break evah.

This Bloomberg music is so freaking dramatic.  Like the end of the world.

Now the candidates question each other.  Oh boy.

Alphabetical order.

Bachmann first.  She calls Perry out for campaigning for Gore and increasing bond debt in Texas.  "How can we trust you to not go down the Obama way..." she asks.  Most people in Texas were Democrats, he says.  Reagan was, he says.  Point.

Perry defends by saying Texas has the second lowest debt per capita in the United States.  Point.

Cain is next.  To Romney:  Can you name all 159 points in your plan?  Cain is touting the simplicity of his 9-9-9 plan.  Romney tosses off a casual ha ha! and says simplicity is not always what is needed.   Glib.

His answer is not simple and Cain points that out.

Newt is next.  He asks Romney about his proposed capital gains tax cut for people under $250,000 which is "lower than Obama had."  Romney says middle class Americans have been most hurt by Obama.  Newt makes the point that people in that income bracket don't normally have capital gains in the first place, to speak of.

Huntsman.  Rangers up 1-0 still.  Top of the fourth.

8:20:   I dislike the way Ron Paul pronounced "Fed."  I can't even type it out phonetically.  It's bizarre.  Cain cautions Ron Paul about what he reads on the internet when Paul misquotes him.  Cain says he does not object to the Fed being audited.

Cain is killing them with this 9-9-9 thing!  Every answer is 9-9-9!

Romney gives a shout out for Christie in his ObamaCare answer - thanks for the endorsement buddy!  Romney says less than 1% of the kids in his state are uninsured as opposed to Perry where LOTS are uninsured in Texas.  Romney is standing by RomneyCare.  He tries to draw the distinction but I'm not sure he's doing it.

LOL - Charlie Rose calls on Santorum who points out that Romney comes before Santorum.  Romney:  "You'd think someone from PBS would know that!"  Laughter all around.

Oh god - Bachmann with her mother resume again.  Enough already.  Is there anyone on the planet who doesn't know about her foster kids?

8:25:   Now to Santorum.  S after R.  Is he asking a question?  To Cain:  Can we trust you, with your lack of experience, that you won't continue to give Washington a tool to take away our freedom?  And Santorum points out that Cain supported TARP.

Cain says he's going to ask Congress to use a 2/3 majority vote before they can raise the 9-9-9 tax.  The American people will hold their feet to the fire, and "I will be president," Cain says, and he won't sign anything that raises the 9-9-9 plan.

Another break.

Cain is doing quite well.  Santorum is spunkier than I've seen him.  Perry is not helping himself - no major errors, just not much of a presence.  Romney is just Romney, man...he's just glib and polished and I still don't feel any fire for him.

Dammit!  Rangers tied at 1-1.

8:35: To Perry on health care.  How are you different?  This from Charlie Rose.  All Perry can seem to say is "gettin' America back to work" to any question.  "Get this country back workin' again," is his answer to everything.

Dead in the water.

Perry pronounced Bobby Jindal's name "Jin-DAHL"; that may be correct but I've never heard Jindal say it that way in any of his ads or press conferences.  Jin-dle is how he says it.  I thought they were buds.  Wouldn't he know that?

Cain pronounces with "wif" - this bothers me.  Speech class.  Cain is looking to replace Bernanke "wif" someone he won't name yet.  No hints.

To Ron Paul - since we're talking about the Fed.  Cain liked Alan Greenspan, but Paul says he was "a disaster."

Greenspan was a bad answer for Cain.  I'm with Paul on that one.  God, did I just say I agree with Ron Paul?

"Bernanke compounds the problem," says Paul.

An audience question about opening up bank lending to small businesses.  The question is to Romney who says Obama is "well meaning but in over his head."  Disagree.  Not at all sure he is "well meaning."  Dude.

Socialism?  Really?

Bachmann - "The Dodd-Frank bill is the jobs and housing destruction act."  She's talked to bankers who are going broke and losing money.  Going under.  "We will see literally thousands of banks close their door."  She's the lone wolf again who proposed the bill to repeal Dodd-Frank.

To Cain again - "I agree - repeal Dodd-Frank and repeal the capital gains tax."

Shouldn't Newt chime in here somewhere?  He's good on this.

But no.  It's Ron Paul again.

A Solyndra question to Perry.  "Do you think there were inadequate safeguards there" or is this just "the risk we run"?  Perry says government has no place there; it's a states issue if they want to get involved in issues like this.  Moderator interrupts and argues with him.  Perry answers her adequately about what they do in Texas as far as oversight.  No fire, no gains, just adequate.

She argues again about oversight.  Perry:  "Every one of those projects had the Lt. governor and the speaker" involved in oversight.  Texas creates jobs.  Got it.  Texas creates jobs.  Repeat six times.

Oh lordy.  A George W. Bush video clip about more people in America owning homes than ever before.  The question to Newt is if the American dream about owning a home is dead.

Newt jabs at Obama's malaise in his speeches.  Good one.  Newt - people need to get back to work so they can AFFORD to buy houses.

You mean owning a house isn't a "right"?  The government doesn't have to buy me one?

This is a boring debate.  Herman Cain is the only reason to watch this thing.

Rangers 1-1; Detroit on first and third.

8:45:  Perry says people are in poverty because Obama is a job-killer.  He has "over taxed and over regulated" so that employers are laying off people.  Guess what he says?  "Get Americans workin' again."  We have to "replace Barack Obama."  Applause.

Santorum jumps in and says a big problem is the break up of the American family.  Santorum pleads for the strength of the American family and there's some random outburst in the audience.  Bachmann is disoriented because of the outburst.  Heckling.  Rose continues.  Awful.

They're trying to wrap this up.  It's degenerated into a mess.  Cain:  "I was po' before I was poor." ?  Seriously?

Ugh.  Terrible debate. 

The Rangers game is looking grim too.  Detroit is up 2-1.  I'm going over there now.

Thanks for hanging in.

Winner?  Cain.  No doubt.

Debate or the Rangers?

What to do? 

Watch the debate tonight or the Texas Rangers playoff game? 

I've been in a cranky, funky mood the past couple of days.  Mad.  No idea why.  I'm in that weird blogging cycle where I'm busy at school and in real life so the blog gets pushed back, stats go down, people quit linking me, stats go down, I get discouraged, then neglect the blog more because I think, "Hell!  Nobody's reading it anyway!" 

But then.  I remember.  I'm not blogging for stats or hits or even money because if I were I would have starved ages ago.

I blog to vent.  Mostly.  Doesn't everyone?

So.  Debate or Rangers? 

I'll think it over.

Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden

We made a quick trip over to see Milly at Second Hand Rose Antiques today.  We haven't been since August and so we were overdue!

Plus, it was a great, fall day and Steve has a wonderful rental vehicle this weekend while his Santa Fe is in for repairs:  we have a brand new Jeep Wrangler (4-door) convertible for the weekend.

Love!  Must have it!  It's maroon with a black soft top.

Love!

Anyway, Milly was so busy today I didn't take a lot of pictures.  We'll be going back in the next few weeks - the annual Main to Main celebration is coming up as well as the Fasching, so we'll definitely be back.

Milly had some real oddities this time, including a shark preserved in formaldehyde which was just creepy.  I tried to take a picture but it came out blurry.  Thank me later.

This Coca-Cola lamp (and phone) were cool:

Milly tells me the phone lights up when it rings. 

And here is a lovely milk glass tray which came home with me:

Mink stole, anyone?

This piece is really cute; love the shape:

Or how about a lovely Duncan Miller swan?

There were several new pieces in the area of kid toys; Milly had two child sized stoves:

And dolls:

Supposedly these pictures glow in the dark; that might creep me out if I was a kid, but you never know:

And this kiddie juke box was cute:

Winter is coming...how about a sled?

This Little Sprout telephone still works:

This is one of the petticoats that we help Milly unpack on our last visit; she's cleaned and pressed them and WOW at the detail on them!  I can't imagine how long it took someone to make this:

It was a quick trip today and there were so many people in and out of the shop today I didn't want to get too much in the way taking pictures so we spent most of the time just poking around. 

I bought the milk glass tray, a salt spoon, we found an old slide projector so we can finally look at Steve's old slides from Germany, and I bought a couple of other little things. 

We met some friends for dinner at Nicky's in Dixie Inn, pulled the top off the Wrangler, and headed back down the interstate toward home. 

Why Does Governor Jindal Need to Politicize the Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal?

I don't know if you've heard, but Governor Bobby Jindal is running for re-election in Louisiana. 

During Jindal's administration in 2008, he did a very neat thing:

The Louisiana Veterans Honor Medal was created by Act 695 of 2008 Louisiana Legislature.  The intention is to recognize and honor all Louisiana veterans.  One side of the medal bears an outline of the state and the words, “United States Armed Forces.”  The flip side  reads, “Louisiana appreciates your service to our country.”  All medals may be worn over the neck or pinned on a jacket.  Some medals are distinguished for veterans killed in action or wounded in action; others designate veterans who were prisoners of war.

Governor Jindal has been traveling the state ever since giving out these medals.

Would I be going out on a limb here to assume that most veterans who received the medal were honored and simply grateful without suspecting they'd be used in a campaign ad?



Governor Jindal did a really nice thing; now why is he politicizing it?  To me, it seems to take away from the sincerity of the gesture.  Or is that just me?

Dislike.

Quote of the Day: HE Says No!

“I’m not focused on that,” he said. “I don’t crave it. I wanted to be a United States Senator. I didn’t run for the Senate as an opportunity to have a launching pad for some other job. I think one of the things that I lament is that people somehow come to the conclusion that United States Senator is not enough. Listen, the United States Senate is still an important, I think very important institution.”

Rubio said that a Senator can never get big things done in the Senate if they are “focused on it as a some sort of a launch pad for something else.”

Sen. Marco Rubio
October 5, 2011

She Says "No!"...And Now The Quest For the Palin Endorsement Begins

She's not running.  

The field is set.


So who will get her endorsement?

Update:  Professor Jacobson:

Palin had the opportunity to be a game-changer in the direction of this country; someone who really understood at a gut level how far down the road we are on the path to a country we will not recognize; someone who understands that the political class holds the country by the throat, and that removing the grip is necessary not just changing who holds the grip.

Statement here.

Audio here.

Memeorandum thread.

Allahpundit:

My guess is that Cain benefits the most from her absence. Like her, he’s a Beltway outsider, and like her, he seems like a real person, not a talking-points machine like the Romneybot or a back-slapping gladhander like Perry. Authenticity has always been key to Palin’s appeal among her supporters and that’s Cain all over.

And Rick Perry is first out of the gate with a statement.

Who is IT?

I'm in a funk about the Republican field.  I don't love any of 'em.

Chris Christie says he isn't running, to no one's great surprise.  I don't think I'd have loved him, either.  I don't care about his weight;  I think we disagree on some issues.  What I really want is to take parts of each of the candidates and make the perfect candidate.

Christie had not stepped out of the television lights today before the pundits were back to speculating on a Palin run.  Rick Perry seems to have peaked and burned so fast we hardly knew he was there.  And all the while Mittens is sitting comfortably in the lead:  a flip-flopper who says what he has to say and seems to have little conviction of anything.

A Palin entry won't change things for me.

Is this the best we can do?

One day last week, or maybe it was the week before, Rush Limbaugh suggested that Obama is going to lose so big in 2012 that Republicans ought to be putting up the most conservative candidate possible rather than some to-the-center "big tent" sort of person. 

A co-worker asked me last week, "Well, who's it going to be?!"

I have no idea.  My feelings about this election are about the same as the last one.  Anyone but Obama.  I would love to be able to enthusiastically get behind a candidate right now, but I can't.  I had a foot on the Perry train, but I've stepped back a little.

What's bothering me about Perry?  I'm not sure.  Maybe his poor debate performances.  He seems unprepared for the questions which I find troubling.  I was troubled by his in-state tuition position for illegals, and am still even after the reports that it amounts to so few students.  It's the principle for me.  Why should the illegal alien get preferential treatment over the impoverished student from another state who wants to come to Texas?  Oh, I've heard Perry's defense; it just doesn't convince me.

The tuition issue and the poor debate performances are enough to give me pause.  But there are other nagging things about Perry, too.  Nothing major; maybe he'll improve through the campaign, but with states now moving their primary dates up and up and up, we'll be voting before we know exactly who we're voting for.

Should Paul Ryan have run?  Maybe.  Would he have won?  Doubtful.

Should Rubio have run?  Too early?  Should he take a VP position if asked?  Should he waste his talents attending state funerals for four years?  Or eight?

Why doesn't Rick Santorum have more charisma?  But then again, Rick Santorum is almost too conservative for me, and that's going some.

Why do we expect charisma in our president, anyway?  Is that a prerequisite?

How can Herman Cain get the nomination with so little foreign policy experience or know how?  Oh, snap!  Experience is now a non-issue after Obama!  So can Cain get the nomination?  Do we want him to?  Is he IT?

I don't know.

I don't have answers to any of these questions yet, even after watching all the debates so far.

I hope things clear up.

Added (10/5/11):  Rubio says he will NOT be a VP candidate.

Oktoberfest is Done

Today is the last day for Oktoberfest in Munich.  Weep!

The countdown to next year begins.

The Shreveport Times has a great photo gallery of the Barksdale Oktoberfest.  Mr. and Mrs. SIGIS are in there a few times as well as our companions, Josh and Heather.  A wonderful time had by all!

Next year is coming.

I'm READY!

Photo Credit:  Paul Schuetze/The Times

Grind That Rock Into Pea Gravel, Rick!

People like Al Sharpton and media outlets like The Washington Post who continue to perpetuate and manufacture charges of racism disgust me.

So Rick Perry's father painted over a racial slur on a "slablike rock" and turned the rock over.  All of a sudden, WaPo is perpetuating the Perry is a Racist meme because the rock exists and because some idiotic locals named the area long before Perry ever became associated with it.

Never mind that Perry's family never owned the property.

Never mind that Perry found it offensive.

Never mind that Perry had it painted over.

It was THERE!  Guilty!  RAAAAACIST!

Good lord.  This crack, investigative media outlet who couldn't find Obama's birth certificate, evidence of his alliance with Bill Ayers, Obama's college thesis or transcripts, or one single member of Jeremiah Wright's church who saw Obama sitting in the congregation listening to anti-white-America propraganda.

And Al Sharpton, who continues to beclown himself, says:

“At worst he either thought it was something he could identify with and even have some bit of irony,” Sharpton said. “At best, he’s insensitive. How can someone who would seek the highest office in the land be so insensitive to the implications of that name?”

Sharpton predicted the issue will harm Perry among Republicans.

“Even though he’s running in a party whose primary do not have a substantial African-American vote, the average American does not want to be identified to such racial insensitivity,” Sharpton said. “People say, ‘I don’t want to be identified with something this blatant.’”

Seriously?!  When did Al Sharpton gain the ability to know what Rick Perry is thinking?  How does HE know what Rick Perry thought about that rock?  Perry had it painted over, Sharpton, or did you miss that?  Should he have had it ground into gravel?  Would you be happy then?  I doubt it.

And dear all republican African-Americans:  You are now insubstantial, according to Sharpton.  

What a disgrace Al Sharpton is.  He's set race relations back sixty years all by himself.  

Now he's getting help from The Washington Post.

SIGIS Recommends: Michael Henry

I've got a new author to share with you; well, new to me, anyway.

When Steve and I went to Natchitoches in June, J. Michael Kenny, owner of The Book Merchant, recommended a book by author Michael Henry.  J. Michael has never steered me wrong so I took his recommendation and purchased Three Bad Years.  I finally got a chance to read it in September (I'm a little backlogged in my reading stack) and liked it so much I went online and ordered the next book, At Random which I finished last night.  The book jumped to the top of my reading stack.

Think early Grisham mixed with James Lee Burke.  The first two Henry books are set in a little bitty town in Mississippi called Sunshine and center around protagonist, District Attorney Willie Mitchell Banks.

Both stories are tightly spun and are impossible to put down once you've started.  Willie Mitchell is described as "the last elected white politician in Yaloquena County"; he is as intriguing and believable a character as I've seen lately.  He's likable and smart, yet has faults like everyone else.  He jogs, he shops at the Jitney Mart with his iPod and a tumbler of vodka, he's happily reunited with the love of his life after "three bad years" of separation, and he's smart as a whip in the courtroom.

It looks like the next Henry books are co-written with his son and I'm curious to see how that changes things, or if it does.  Willie Mitchell's son, Jake, is going to come more into play in these next books which will be interesting.  I'm hoping Willie Mitchell is still a part of the plot, however, and that Mr. Henry doesn't abandon Willie Mitchell in favor of son Jake.  Jake hasn't won me over yet.  I like him, but I don't pull for him yet like I do for Willie Mitchell.  This will come in time.

At any rate, if you like John Grisham, or smart legal mystery/thrillers with likable characters and southern flavor, check out Michael Henry.  It won't be long before everyone discovers him and he's bumped Grisham and Connelly off the top of the charts.

Henry's website is here.   Facebook is here.  And Twitter.

Where is the Common Sense?

The Shreveport Times has a front page story today on a controversy at Airline High School. Read the whole article, but the short version is that on August 31 of this year, members of the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) distributed (with administrative permission) approximately 1,200 Bibles to students who wanted them during the lunch hour. 

That seems to be about all of the facts we have here.  The rest is a lot of he said/she said stuff:  rumors of students being harassed, Bibles being thrown at students who didn't take them, and so on. There is no corroboration of this.

It appears that the person most offended is not even an Airline student; he's a "former student" who got a text message from someone who told him Bibles were being handed out.  He and another student demanded an investigation from the principal. 

The principal says:

"To this day, not one parent or student that has any affiliation with Airline has complained to my office, and everyone has said the FCA students were passing out material just like any other student organization may do."

Okay so what's the problem?  Why is this front page material?  There are folks in the "comments" section following the article reminding everyone of the separation of church and state and how "religion should not be in the schools!"

And so we've come to this.

There's even a Facebook page with 241 (as of this writing) "Likes" entitled Keep Religion Out of Airline. 

Why not just banish the FCA all together?  Why allow FCA to even exist? 

What of the national See You at the Pole day?  Get rid of that, too? Of course, See You at the Pole is not held during school hours and is entirely student generated.  I assume it is that the Bibles were handed out during school hours that has the anti-religion people so riled.

It's only a matter of time, I guess, before the ACLU jumps in.  In fact, that former student has already contacted them.

The kerfuffle at Airline High School is just an extension of what we've been seeing for years with this school or that one abolishing the pledge because it has the word "God" in it; abolishing prayer before graduations or athletic events, having "HolidayTrees" instead of Christmas trees, no nativity scenes in public squares, no more Ten Commandments at the courthouse, and who can forget the "Spring Spheres" last year?  Just last week a story broke about a CA teacher who docks students 25 points every time they say "Bless You" if someone sneezes.

It seems tolerance is good for everything except for Christians.  In attempting to avoid offending anyone, we've offended everyone. 

Where is the common sense?

Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale Oktoberfest

We have survived Barksdale Oktoberfest 2011.  And while we missed being the first to arrive by nine minutes, we were again the last to leave.  DJ Larry who comes on after the band shuts down noted that we are indeed his "die-hards."

The celebration gets bigger and better every year.  This is the fourth year that Barksdale has done Oktoberfest and it has improved a lot since that first year when they ran out of beer and didn't have enough taps.  That first year we spent most of our time in line for beer.

I'm terrible at estimating crowd sizes but I would not be surprised to find out that 2,000 people were there last night.  And while the event is great fun, it also is a huge fundraiser for Bright Holiday which sends Airmen home for the holidays.  We're more than happy to contribute to THAT effort!

This year Steve's son, Josh, was of age so we took him and his girlfriend, Heather, along with us.

We checked out the decorations:

The event started at 4:30 and I took this early picture of the tents and assembling mob:

By the time it got dark there were no places to sit under the big white tent and the grassy area was crowded with people.  On the other side of the white tent, out of frame, is where the keg rolling contest was held in a roped off parking lot.

About 6:30 the buffet opened so we got our German meal:  schnitzel, sauerkraut, red cabbage, potato salad, bratwurst and pretzels!

The food has improved a great deal since that first year!

This is me and my friend Rose; she was working the ticket table last night.  I look fat.

That's the only time my bow was tied all night; in every other picture I seem to be undone.  I tied that thing a hundred times.  Should have tied it in a knot.

I think the rest of the night we spent on the dance floor.  They had a costume contest.  I won it, but only because the girl in the cute checked dirndl didn't enter!  I got a bottle of red wine and a gift certificate to dinner at one of the casinos!  Humiliation has its rewards.

They didn't have the yodeling contest or the beer drinking contest this year.  Not sure why; those were fun!

But, we did the Thriller dance (I don't know how to do it, but I did my zombie impression.)  We did the Chicken Dance and The Hand Jive:

Every now and then we had to stop for beer.

Cute Maggie Martin, from The Shreveport Times, and her husband were there and they danced all night long!  She had her notebook and was taking down names; I guess she's doing a story on Oktoberfest for the paper.  I'll link it at the bottom of this post if and when she writes one.

We also met an English Bulldog puppy who was all decked out for Halloween:

The band, Alpen Musikanten was great, as always.  Steve particularly enjoyed this reggae version of Edelweiss:



They've performed at each of the four Oktoberfests and I hope they're a lock for next year.  I hear that next year's celebration will be TWO days!  Whoop!

And so we danced the night away...

...and we bought souvenir mugs and t-shirts.  We brought home big doughy pretzels.  We closed the DJ down and headed home sometime after midnight.

Another fabulous Oktoberfest is in the books!

Can't wait until next year!  My goal for next year is to lose ten pounds and keep my bow tied. 

Added 10.3.11:  The Shreveport Times photo gallery.

Previously:
Take a Trip to the Third Annual Barksdale Oktoberfest
Full Metal Jacket Saturday:  The Oktoberfest Edition
Oktoberfest at BAFB

In Less Than 24 Hours...

Less than 24 hours to go!

My costume is ready:

I've rehearsed my Mass lifting skills:

I have my tickets:

Steve has his alpine hat. 

We are READY!

In less than 24 hours we'll be doing the chicken dance:



(no idea where these people are but they look like they're having fun!)

and ohmigod I have to learn the Thriller dance in less than 24 hours!!!!

We'll be eating this:

and singing the Guacamole Song:

If you don't hear from me in the next 24 hours or so, no worries.  I'll be fine.

Really.

I will.

Prost!