Decision 2008 — Bullsh*t! Plain And Simple

What type of holy horse-sh*t is happening in this country?  What the h*ll has our nation become? 

Barack Obama stood before this country yesterday and with straight-face justified the rants of an insane man!  AND the people that follow him. Good god.

There was absolutely nothing acceptable in the speech that the “reverend” Wright spewed.  It’s one thing to be p*ssed-off at the government, but to accuse it of infecting people with HIV/AIDS on purpose is lunatic!  To say something like this is just plain wrong:

As Wright put it, “Hillary ain’t never been called a nigger!  Hillary has never had her people defined as non-person.”

When Robert C. Byrd used the phrase “white nigger” the black community demanded an apology.  [Although he didn't get the same blasting that George Allen and Trent Lott got.]  Why doesn’t Wright have to apologize?

And, Hillary has never had her people defined as a non-person — um excuse the f* out of me, but women are still treated like non-persons in parts of the U.S. and for gods’ sake look at how they are treated in parts of Africa and Iran!  Who got the right to vote first?  Hmmmm?  Was it black men or the whole class of women?  Hmmmm??!!!  Let me see … Could it be the 15th Amendment to the Constitution that holds the answer? 

I will grant you that its wasn’t just so easy as to say “O.K. Now you can vote.”  But poor white trash didn’t get to vote that easy either.

Now — when did women get the right?  Hmmmm?  Can you answer me that?  How about the 19th.

And don’t give me that crap about “I could no more disown him [Wright] than I can disown my white grandmother ….”, you lying pile of spew!  Don’t you dare expect me to believe that.  You are knee deep in that junk.  You’ve been listening to it and giving it passive support for at least 20 years, and probably much longer.  You don’t get the endorsement of Lewis Farrakahan by being good to whitey and Jews. 

And I have told many, many people I could vote for you before voting for Hillary.  Well young man, I can’t now. 

There is no way on this planet that I can support you when you only denounce such bile and hatred when you are cornered; when you have no choice.  No one with any sense believes that you didn’t know Wright was belching that evil.  Those aren’t the words of any Christian.  Christ, even with all his anger at the money-changers never called any creature of his father’s names like that, nor did he accuse the Romans of creating diseases or laws that would puposely destroy the Jews.

No, the hatred that he [and many others] preaches can not be explained away.  It wasn’t ok for Byrd to say what he did, and he’s of a much older generation than Wright.  It wasn’t ok for Lott to say what he did, and he’s just about in the same generation of Wright.  It can’t be explained away with the “generation” comment because that audience was FULL of people from new born to 100 years of age cheering it on.  It’s wrong and it must be stopped across the board.

Rodney King asked “Why can’t we just get along?” The answer is … because we’re too busy living in the past and blaming each other for our own actions. 

What would Martin Luther King say?

Thanks South Charleston!

This is just a quickie post.  Partially because I haven’t posted in a while, and partially because I have a little time on my hands.   I’ve categorized this under “Road Trips” because, well, I’m on the road.  I’m eating lunch in South Charleston.

I remembered hearing that the City of South Charleston had become a wi-fi city.  Since I have an appointment at Thomas this afternoon I wanted to try it out.  I know it made the headlines when it went live, but I haven’t heard anything about how well or how badly it has worked.  After all  the hype, has it really been a draw for business & customers?

I suspect not.  The reason I say that is I don’t see very many people actually working or playing on notebooks during the day.  Maybe I’m not in the right places. 

I know for me, I need a power supply.  My battery is just the one that came with the machine.  It only lasts an hour.  Lugging the notebook and setting it up is really a bother.  I need to have a reason to hang-out for a while before dragging it.  So, unless I’m just traveling for work and need to be able to get out of the vehicle for a while, I’m not just going to drag the notebook to a coffee shop to work.  I could just go back to my desk and work with my shoes off.

But, kudos to the City of South Charleston for providing me this option.  If I ever get finished with my classes I might be able to make a Chamber event! 

Sigma Beta Delta

Wow!  Not since Junior High have I been nominated for an honor society.  Well, I received information to join a non-traditional student social organization when attending WV State, but not an ‘honor society’.  LOL

This past week I received a letter from MSU extending me an invitation to join Sigma Beta Delta, a national honor society of business students.  It’s counterparts in arts & sciences and engineering are Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi.  [Sounds impressive doesn't it.]  This letter says

You have been identified by your institution’s faculty as one who is eligible for membership in Sigma Beta Delta.  Your nomination places you in a very select group because membership is restricted to outstanding business scholars.

Imagine that!  Me!  An “outstanding business scholar.” 

I don’t know anything about these groups.  I’m such a non-traditional student that I have no clue about ‘college life.’  My college experience has been as a working adult living off campus with a job and family responsibilities that prohibit participation in most college activities.  Not to mention I’m old enough to be most of the other students’ mother.  

When I was taking on-campus classes at WV State, I really felt out-of-place.  Not because of anything the other students said to me, but just looking around the room.  Then, WV State would brag on serving the ‘non-traditional student’ but most of us were struggling to find the required classes in the evenings.  It was so bad that some couldn’t graduate on time because the class[es] didn’t appear in the evening until the following semester or year.

But I’m really tickled about this invitation and I’m thinking of accepting it. 

I really had no intentions to attend college as an adolescent.  I wanted to be the full-time at-home mom, taking care of the house, keeping a flower garden and a few veggies, with my dog and cat.  But, life happens and that is now my ‘retirement’ dream.  College became mandatory in order to support my family.  Then, when the associate’s in office administration didn’t equal higher pay a bachelor’s degree became the next target.  Leaving the job wasn’t originally in the plan.

Now, once I complete college I’ll have to pay back the loans, so I’ll still be working.  But!  In the meantime, I’ll enjoy this nomination and consider accepting it.

Homecoming

My son is on his way home!

I have a son who, until this past Thursday, was in the U.S. Army.  He was stationed on the West Coast.  Today he’s on his way home.  I’m glad!  I’ve missed him.

He entered just about 2 years ago.  He was gung-ho on becoming Special Forces qualified.  He went through all the training, wasn’t selected and ended up on the West Coast.  Something happened out there an now he’s been discharged.  He hasn’t told me the full story.  I haven’t pushed for it.  I figure he’ll tell me when he’s ready.  I can’t figure out what could be a situation where he would be released, but not demoted or jailed.  Unless it’s psychological.  A Corporal Klinger type of thing.  That’s why I won’t push.

I’ve never had an issue with my sons choosing to serve in the military.  Their father was in while we were married.  I was unhappy as a military spouse, but I was under 20.  I think it would have been different if I’d been older, but who knows. It’s an honorable option and one that many in our family have taken. Time are difficult and when he told me he had joined I was scared to death for him.  But, it was his adult decision and I supported him in it.

I’m no Cindy Sheehan.

He’s bringing home a girlfriend.  She’s younger than he is.  She just finished high school last year, making her the same age as his brother.  But — I was 4 years his father’s Jr.  They’ll stay with me a few weeks till we get their place ready.  It’s become a family tradition!  My dad moved into a small place my grandparents owned, I moved back to the house after my children were born and, eventually, my son will also.  It isn’t a fancy place and needs a lot of work.  But if they keep their heads and hold off on children for about 4 years they’ll be able to get it together and prepped for a passel of kids, after they get married!

So, for a while my household is going to be turned upside down [again and still] while my older son and his girlfriend shack-up here and my younger son prepares to leave for Basic Training in April, on top of my schooling, struggles to learn the new business and general topsy-turvy life-events.

Did I mention they are bringing her cat?! 

Bimbo Erruptions

Well, John McCain has arrived.  The first ‘official’ bimbo erruption of his presidential campaign has occured.  According to Drudge:

 McCain has personally pleaded with NY TIMES editor Bill Keller not to publish the high-impact report involving key telecom legislation before the Senate Commerce Committee, newsroom insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

Now, over at Don Surber’s place, he gives us this:

Did the New York Times hire Jayson Blair back? Because this story sure ain’t much other than both sides denying it.

From the people who gave us with a straight face “sex is private” and “MoveOn there is nothing to see here” comes: NYT: “For McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk.”

Based on this I think McCain is more like Bill Clinton and JFK than Obama could ever hope to be.  And from the same people who brought you Bill, JFK and even Teddy Kennedy, don’t be handing me any “we believe in strong family values.”  Neither of these parties have what the people in fly-over country call family values.

Could someone tell me what is up with the …. wrinkles around this woman’s waist?  [See photo below.]  It looks like either she needs a slip to camoflauge her lace panties or her Depends are damp.  A woman should never wear a dress such as that with regular underwear.  There are specialty foundation garments that you purchase in order to give a smooth flow to the gown. 

If I’d spent that much money on a gown, you bet your d*mn *ss not the first wrinkle of undergarments would be showing … even if I had to go without them.

If It’s Good For The Goose …

So, over at Lincoln Walks at Midnight is a story on King Joe’s proposal to slash property taxes on commercial and corporate aircraft, after hearing from county airport officials who support the bill.  Messina has a link to additional stuff  with the AP.  It says:

Airport officials from counties across West Virginia helped convince the Senate Finance Committee to endorse Gov. Joe Manchin’s proposal to slash property taxes on commercial and corporate aircraft.

Committee members voted Monday after hearing that if the bill attracts just 20 more planes to the state, that would generate 70 jobs and $1.7 million a year from fuel, maintenance and other services.

Such results should ultimately offset the estimated $2.3 million loss in annual revenues, said Aeronautics Commission Chairman Richard S. Wachtel.

So, my question is this … if corporate air travel can benefit from such slashing of taxes, why can’t the rest of us?  I mean come one.  If the taxes are that bad for them, then they are that bad for all of us.  And if one solution is to cut taxes to offset losses in this situation why wouldn’t you cut taxes across the board to offset losses in our economy state wide?

Instead of poking cheese holes in the tax laws of the state [Slow reduction of the food tax, special breaks for airlines, but no break for Fenton Glass.] why don’t they just drop the whole thing in a stack at Beaver Valley and build a more efficient one?

Ever Seen a Nuclear Plant?

Well …. here:

This one is NOT a nuclear plant:

State of My Employment

I’ve had a couple folk ask what’s up since I left my previous employer to become self-employed, and how my apprenticeship is going. The short answer is, I’m still self-employed. This journey into self-employment hasn’t been what I thought it would be.  I’m learning, or reaffirming actually, some hard lessons about people and myself. 

About People - People don’t seem to think you will actually do what you say you will.  The gentleman who I am apprenticing under didn’t figure I’d hang around like I did.  He never really prepared for me because so many before had either failed the exams or just left.  After the first of January he began helping me get set up a little better.  It’s still an awkward situation.  I’m an associate with a different company training under him.  He’s not a good teacher, but a great person.  When I ask him what I’m supposed to be doing he says I have to speak to the people I know and wait.  Something tells me there is more to it.

About Me - I’m uncomfortable in sales.  That in and of itself is probably going to screw me.  I’d figured that I would be taught with the established clients, then as my understanding and confidence grew I’d be able to ’sell’.  But, I’ve been handed some forms and basically set in the street and instructed to “sell”.  [sink or swim]  It’s driving me bananas. 

I have a long-distance friend, Ralph, who sells ADT in North Carolina.  He’s a great salesman.  I need to contact him and ask for help in just getting started.  I think if I could just learn how to get started I would be ok.  It’s a lot like starting that new book or blog post I imagine.  Execpt, where writing is concerned I can start anywhere and go back and fine tune.  Here, I don’t think I can just start anywhere.

I thought about taking my PDA and just going through my contact list asking people to consider me when their coverages expire.  But I know how I feel when I get calls like that, I feel put-upon. 

That’s another problem — feeling.  As a Pisces I tend to relate to emotions a little more than most.  Although I’m a conservative, I can relate to, and on occassion support, the perspectives of my liberal buddies.  That’s why I am occassionally called a liberatarian. 

My free-lance writing has slowed.  But it slowed at a good time.  I’ve some outside issues pressing and needed a little break.  I do have a new agreement to develop a brochure for a small non-profit.  [Which, by-the-way, I have to knock out this morning.] It won’t bring in big dollars, but will expand my client list. 

So, I’m still hanging in with the self-employment, but it isn’t the rosie picture I had a few months ago.  Would I still have left my old employer if I knew I’d be in this spot six months later — oh yes!  But, I have almost 20 years of experience being an employee and only 6 months experience being my own boss.  I’ve still not made a full adjustment.

New Toy Alert!!

I have a new toy!!  Woo hoo!!

I love tech toys.  I don’t have the Blackberry or Chocolate things, but I do have a Palm, Bluetooth headset for my cell phone, digital camera, digital voice recorder and a few other things.  I got an early birthday present on Friday night, a Navigon 2100 GPS! 

I’m having a ball with this thing!  I used it to route the trip to Ohio.  It has 2D and 3D views, lets you chose whether it shows the location of restaurants, gas stations, and public phones.  I can chose the highway or scenic route.  I can set it to tell me if I’m going 5+ miles over the speed limit, and set a different amount for the Interstate.

This thing talks to me!  Unfortunately, it’s a female voice.  I named it Karen. [Why can't they make these things speak like Shepard Smith?  :(   ]  She warns me at 2 miles of an upcoming turn, and again at 1, .5 and “Turn left now.”  She tells me how long I’ll travel on the particular stretch of road. 

I didn’t have the street address for my trip Saturday.  I just plugged Oak Hill, OH, into Karen’s trip planning.  So, when we turned off the primary road she got nervous.  She recalculated the route and began saying “In .5 miles, please make a U-turn.”  Then, when we got to the spot she would say “Please make a U-turn if possible, now.”  LOL  It got old, honestly.  But, it was interesting to learn what would happen.

I tried to route my trip to Nashville, via a scenic route.  Karen’s memory isn’t big enough for that.  I’ll have to break it up into small segments. 

I plugged her in this morning and let her monitor my trip into the office.  I intentionally sped up more than 5 mile above the speed limit. She just said “Warning!”  “Caution!”  LOL 

I haven’t figured out yet how I’ll use it with my bike.  Maybe just have to keep it in my pocket until I stop, then check. 

 

This Little Piggie — Moo

Ahhh … I need a couple more weekends like this past one.  I took a trip to Oak Hill, Ohio, on Saturday.  Went up to a friend’s farm to see the ‘new’ pigs and calves.  It isn’t a large farm by most standards.  It is larger than I would like to run myself.

It only takes a couple hours to get up there.  It’s a beautiful area, very rural.  Last year I went up via Route 33 out of Ripley into Point Pleasant. This year I went via Rt 35 through Winfield to Pt. Pleasant.  Unfortunately it wasnt’ warm enough to ride.  But, it was a nice change of pace.

 

This is my nephew’s back.  I took him with me.  He’s nine and has never seen pigs or calves in person.  He seemed to enjoy it.  He was a little unsure what he was seeing, but he asked some good questions.   The sow to his right is called a “blue butt”.  She was to have been moved in with the boar later in the afternoon. 

 

This is a piggy pile.  They are under a heat-lamp.  The sow is to their left.  Although they are in a barn, it is still very cold.  The heat lamps help keep them warm till they are old enough to get by on their own.

Now, my friend has the darndest luck.  Last year they had a calf that was born away from the barn and got pretty cold.  They brought it in the house for a few days, but the poor thing was too dumb to eat.  They tube fed it for a while and it straightened up.  This year they have a calf with front leg issues. I don’t know what all the parts are called, but this calf walks on it’s wrists.  They haven’t decided what to do with it yet.  It gets around just fine, considering.  The cow feeds and looks after it fine.  Heck, he doesn’t know he has a problem.

In the background of this shot is one of the prettiest bull calves I think I have ever seen.  His mother keeps him very clean and he’s soft and fluffy!  He’s a darling …. for now!

The cows were ‘talking’ to the calves.  It isn’t something the average city slicker would ever hear.  The best I can describe it would be a series of low growls.  The bull is fenced off from the cows and calves.  He doesn’t like it at all and would bellow as long as he could see us.  My friend said, aside from the obvious reasons, the bull doesn’t like to be seperated.  If he can get to an area where he can be along the fence with the cows he’s ok.  Right now he can’t get along side them, so he’s isolated and … unhappy.

I love little trips like this.  It helps settle my nerves and refresh my perspective.  I need to do it more often, really. 

I’m getting the spring fever.  I’m wanting to get my bike out and ride.  I’m thinking of riding to Nashville in June, taking the backroads through Williamson WV, then Hazard KY to Nashville.  I need a couple pieces of luggage before I take a trip like that.   I have saddle-bags but they won’t hold rain gear and a change of clothes.   That’s a subject for another post.