Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Cost of a Toothbrush

Have you noticed how expensive toothbrushes have gotten?  The prices keep going up and up, and the cost is supposedly justified by superfluous design changes.  The changes include bolder colors, really flexible or contorted handles and a variety of colors and lengths of the actual bristles. 

All this marketing and hype to make you think you are getting something special - the gift of a lifetime for your teeth.  But soon you realize that the longevity and usefulness of the brush is less than the previous simple designs.  Reminds me of an Obama program; all hype and no hope or change!

So last night at Wal-mart, to save a buck or two, I bought an Equate medium (mediano) toothbrush for $2.00.  You might recognize the Equate name brand as Wal-mart's generic label.  Toothbrush marketing hype:  textured tongue cleaner, multi level bristles, quality guaranteed.

I used the Equate toothbrush for the first time this morning - and only one bristle fell out!  Final judgment still pending.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Rolling Stone Being Bold About Politics

I found it interesting that the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine, (March 18, 2010), included this title:

"The GOP's Dirty War Against Obama"

Rolling Stone magazine is not primarily about politics, but rather entertainment.  Would they not be a bit concerned that their blatant political view might offend a portion of their readers?

It is true that many of the voters (young, college age) that originally put Obama into office are likely fans of Rolling Stone magazine.  Likewise, many of these young people are certainly intelligent enough to see that Obama's idealistic promise of 'Hope and Change' has amounted to nothing more than bullshit.  Certainly these voters are looking somewhere else for answers now, and that may even be the GOP.

For those who know something about politics, the democrats clearly own the expression "dirty war", so does the title even make sense?

(this political view is true and accurate, and most definitely unchallenged)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Glenn Beck Weekend

There will be plenty of activity this weekend in Washington, and the most important thing will be the Glenn Beck activities on Friday and Saturday.  On Saturday, there will be a Glenn Beck event at the Lincoln Memorial.  I think the theme is restoring honor.  What makes Glenn Beck a little unique is that he really does not emphasize political party.

This weekend you will see the mainstream media either scoff at Glenn Beck, or ignore him.  The mainstream media is a worthless Obama propaganda machine that should be put down!

Switching Story Lines

Linda Lael Miller is an excellent author.  The books I have read from her collection center around modern cowboy type figures that know about cattle, computers, and are learning about women.  I recently read a couple of books from her 'Montanna Creeds' series (Logan, Dylan) and then the next book I picked up was 'Tate' from the McKettrick series.  I decided this was not a good idea because both series are built on the family line.  I just thought it would be confusing.

So, I must first read 'Tyler', the third and last book of the Montana Creeds.  Then I will see about a somewhat orderly approach to the McKettrick series.

Meet the Creed cowboys of Montana: three estranged brothers who come home to find family—and love.



As I said, Linda Lael Miller is a good author.  What is your favorite book from her works?

Mark Against Verizon

My family has five people using Verizon phones.  Five Verizon phones and we are halfway through the two year contract.  One thing that has been obvious for sometime is that the quality of the phones is lacking.  The phones may have plenty of bells and whistles (some more than others), but they are certainly not made durable enough for daily use. 

I was really disappointed last evening to find out that Verizon does not really care about this.  Apparently they consider the phone problems one more reason why you might upgrade sooner.  So, the choices are to either put more money in Verizon's pocket (when they do not deserve it) or continue to live with quirky phones that often do not do what they are supposed to.

Anyone else ever had this problem with Verizon phones? 

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Religious Fervor In The Media

The proposed Mosque at Ground Zero has certainly caused a stir.  If you are watching the media, you cannot miss the energy and resolve to stand up for the principle of religious freedom.  You are constantly reminded that it is one of the bedrocks of our great country.  In this case, of course, it is to protect the religious freedom of muslims.

Now, tell me, when have you ever seen this level of support for the religious freedom of Christianity?  You have not seen it in the U.S. for a long time.  Rather you have heard the never ending drum beat of 'separation of church and state'.  You have seen great efforts to remove religious symbols from the public eye:  ten commandments, Christmas manger scenes and prayer. This double standard reveals the great lie wrapped up in religious freedom when it comes to the left.

For contrast, consider this quote from the current news:

"Giuliani also said he agreed with Gov. David Paterson, who proposed the mosque be built on a location not associated with the same sensitivities as the land near Ground Zero.


Paterson last week offered to help the mosque developers find a new spot, perhaps on state land. When the developers shot down that idea, the governor said he would at least like to have a meeting with them to discuss it. That meeting has yet to be scheduled, and Paterson told NBCNewYork on Wednesday that there were no concrete plans to hold it at all."   Source

Notice the words underlined.  The Governor of New York apparently has no problem with Muslim religious symbols built on government property.  What happened to separation of church and state?

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Greedy Like a School

The drive of greed is obviously alive and well all throughout the world we live in.  Consider American Airlines and their proud announcement of Express Seating.  This feature will allow passengers to pay an additional $19 to $39 to sit in the first few rows of coach.  They will also be in the first group to board.  We just got used to the idea of paying a fee for the first bag, and more for any subsequent bag.  But that wasn't enough to satisfy the greed, was it?  Now they want to charge more for some of the seats in 'cattle coach' and they justify it by calling these seats express.  This certainly sounds like an Obama initiative.

American Airlines greed reminds me of what school systems all across the country are doing this week.  The ever increasing school levees are not enough.  Now parents not only have to pay all kinds of additional fees, but they also must stock the supply cabinet. 

In both of these scenarios, there is no mechanism to check the greed, so greed marches forward.

Obama's Grade Card

They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words' and it is really true when you look at Obama's grade card as president.  This chart is from the Gallup poll dated August 16, 2010.

Obama is seeing new lows and the link to the article is below.  I have included here the chart that shows Obama's crash according to political party.  So what does it show?

Democrats barely get it, just starting to catch on.

Independents seem to have had the greatest awakening, and this is most critical for elections.

Republicans obviously want to get rid of Obama, but it is sad how many were totally duped in the beginning. Of course there are a lot of RINO's and moderates that should not be counted among the Republicans.

Photobucket

New Lows in Job Approval

Even the Democrats

Even the Democrats that went on and on with Obama praises during the election can clearly see how inept and inadequate this little guy is for the Office of the President.  The article referenced below is so typical of democrats and it is actually quite hilarious when you think about it.

Maureen Dowd, liberal New York Times reporter who does not like Republicans and often criticized President G.W. Bush, is calling for George W. Bush to speak out on the Mosque issue.  Dowd is of course for the Mosque - being obsessed with multi-cultural support of immigrants and terrorists.  She says that Bush understands better than Obama the connection between the war on terror and the larger question of America's relationship with Islam.  For many years democrats have told the American people there is no war on terror, so what is she talking about.

Dowd also said she finds it "odd" that Obama seems less sure on the matter.  That is really odd when you consider that Obama is a Muslim.  The problem is when the african muslim attempts to act like a true American.  The act is just too much to pull off.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson is also calling for G.W. Bush and Peter Beinart, former editor of New Republic, says he pines for GW Bush.

I know the above is hard to believe, so you can follow the link and read it for yourself.  The amazing thing is how it puts in black and white right before our faces that Obama is worthless as a President.

Mosque supporters beg George W. Bush

My Private Blog

Looking on the bright side, one of the nice things about my This 'n That blog is that it is very private.  I can record whatever I want here and I am practically guaranteed that no one will see it.  It is a very rare thing that I have a visitor, so I am pretty safe.  How rare?  Let's say I have a better chance of winning a mega jackpot of money in the lottery.

So, I guess, to broaden my scope, I can start recording any of my most deep dark secrets here.  Did you know that I was thinking about ___?  I can tell people what I think of you and all the secrets you have told me.  I can tell everyone what you have done, even though you did not know I was 'in the know'.  I might even make up some nasty jokes about your mother.  Oops!

So many juicy tidbits are available and I won't even have to make them up.

Get ready to have all of this going on behind your back and out of your view.  Just because you won't read my blog!

Strong Opposition to the Mosque

Muslims must be defeated in their attempt to ram their mosque down our throats. Have we forgotten the act of war and terrorism that was thrust upon our country on 9/11? Those who are really Americans and care about this country have not forgotten. Together, they will stand as an army, ready to fight the notion that the bull crap of multicultural diversity and political correctness is enough reason to allow the enemy to erect a victory monument at Ground Zero. Oppose the Mosque! Oppose Obama and Pelosi! Oppose any Muslim who wants this! Oppose any politician who throws their support to the enemy! Investigate the liberal democrats and socialists trying to destroy the United States of American. It is time for Revolutionary thinking. We must fight for what is right. We must oppose the mosque! We must tear down the notion that we must bow down to the terrorist who practice hate and destruction. They who call us infidels want us to show them tolerance. Declare war on such nonsense. Tear down the idea of a mosque to celebrate terrorism. Impeach the little man in the White House. Knock the Mosque down on his head!



Grave-Side Service

You might find this interesting!

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral

director to play at a grave side service for a homeless man.
He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's
cemetery in the Kentucky back-country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost; and being a typical
man I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw
the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight.

There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I
felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of
the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't
know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played
out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played
like I've never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played 'Amazing Grace,' the workers began to weep. They wept, I
wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my bagpipes and
started for my car. Though my head hung low my heart was full.

As I was opening the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I
never seen nothin' like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks
for twenty years."

Why can't men just ask for directions?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Obama Shames America

Have you felt the shame and embarrassment when Obama represents our country very poorly.  I have.  He is a disgrace and he cares not who it affects.  When he is focused on his domestic role, he is more focused on self-praise and demanding his own way.

When the worst president ever has a foreign audience he has on many occasions made it clear that he is ashamed of the way our country has conducted itself and is seeking other countries to forgive us.  He does not acknowledge how great our country is and has been in the past.

Of course this is totally expected from a president who has been steeped in Marxist communism, socialism and anti-Americanism.

Mike has written a nice article with plenty of examples to jog your memory.


Apology for Obama

Monday, August 16, 2010

Obama's Big Lie

Obama got elected on the big promise of Hope and Change.  As long as he has been in office, I'm not sure he has improved any one's situation, except a few of his closest buddies (and Michelle).  Rather his is creating an unbelievable debt load for the tax payers to struggle under.  This picture is quite telling - in between you and the man of hope and change, is his fist, by which he demands his own way, regardless of what it does to the people.

If he had any integrity at all, he would resign and take flappin' Joe with him!


How to Read Obama on Ground Zero

Given enough time, Obama will appear to make conflicting statements about an issue.  He thinks by doing this he keeps the people guessing and will keep himself out of trouble.  Thinking people can see right through his scam!

Obama's first statement on an issue is the one you can typically rely on, especially if he says it with resolve.  Last Friday he made a strong statement regarding the Muslim mosque proposed for ground zero:

"Let me be clear:  As a citizen and as President I believe that Muslims have the same right...to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan"

Sometimes his first statement is just spoken from his heart, without a lot of for-thought and planning.  Other times, the statement is well thought out and he is proposing the way he wants thing to be.  If their is a negative response from the public, then he will make a conflicting/confusing statement and try to hide his actual intentions.  He will stand by his original statement if there is no negative response from the public (or the public he cares about at the time.)

If there is any lingering doubt, consider these quotes:

Mahmoud al-Zahar (leader of Hams, terrorist organization):  said Muslims 'have to build everywhere' so that followers can pray, just like Christians and Jews build their places of worship.

Muslims pray with bombs, so I think they can build elsewhere.

Developer Sharif el-Gamal said:  "We are deeply moved and tremendously grateful for our President's words."

I say it is time for many Americans to get deeply moved!

Muslims have their rights, too.

Really?  Do they?  Are you saying that any group that comes to the United States can have whatever they want because it is their right?  I would say not in this case, for the following reasons:

Muslims were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  There is no doubt about that.  Ah, but you say that was just a few extremists, and that Muslims are peace loving.  Muslims have been at war with Israel for centuries.  How is the peace thing working?  The so-called moderate Muslims have chosen not to voice  opposition to the 9/11 attacks, and polls at that time indicated 40% of Muslims were supportive.

Muslims are here looking to build a Muslim country.  They have no desire to be Americans, for Americans are infidels that deserve death.  Muslims are also making it quite clear that they have no respect for Americans or people of other faiths.  They declare that it is their right to build a mosque where ever they want, and if you don't like it, screw you!

Obama's Free Gift to Muslims

Obama (the first African President of the U.S.) has once again made it obvious that 'once a Muslim, always a Muslim' applies to him.  This past weekend (as he was celebrating Ramadan) he voiced his strong support of building a mosque near Ground Zero.  If this mosque is built, it will be a real slap in the face for America.

Muslims are already rejoicing that they pulled off the 911 attacks.  What better way to increase their boasting than to build a Muslim mosque at the same location!  This would be really convenient for the next cell group with New York as their target!

Obama needs to go to Africa, 'the land that he loves'.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

More on the Bad Assumption

In my previous post, I talked about the erroneous assumption that leads people to expect proportional representation in any group of people they observe. Thomas Sowell has written an excellent article on this and I am sharing a few key points for you to consider.
Here are some examples:

If you watch football, you have often seen black players score touchdowns, but probably have never seen a black player kick an extra point. Is there a reason that teams do not want minority players to kick the extra point?

In basketball, blacks are clearly overrepresented and whites underrepresented. Is this a bit of racial scheming by blacks to control the game?

Government regulation of the housing market was increased when statistics showed that blacks were turned down for mortgages more often than whites. The scream of racism went throughout the land and some really bad decisions were made to ‘fix’ the problem.  However they cherry picked the facts they wanted to see, and failed to mention these:
- whites were turned down more often than Asians

- black-owned banks also turned down blacks more often than whites

- credit scores differed from group to group

Thomas Sowell has this sharp concluding statement: “The bean-counters are everywhere pushing the idea that differences show injustices committed by society. As long as we keep buying it, they will keep selling it – and the polarization they create will sell this country down the river.”

Don’t let baloney guide your thinking.

Bean-Counters and Baloney

This Bad Assumption about Race

An article by Thomas Sowell shows clearly how people get the wrong idea when they adopt a wrong assumption to start with.

This is the wrong assumption that people are making, “that different races, sexes, and other subdivisions would be proportionately represented in institutions, occupations, and income brackets if there were not something strange or sinister going on.”

If a person has adopted this assumption into their thinking, they will be the first to speak up if their ‘type’ of person is not represented in a group of people in accord with overall representation in the population. This erroneous thinking is the foundation of ‘token’ mentality and people attempting to use the race card.

The New York Times is one example of media that wants to feed off the race issue, so they find amazing stats like this:

Baseball coaches from minority groups are more often coaching at first base than third base. Also third base coaches become managers more often first base coaches. The implication is that managers are more often selected out of the pool that has fewer minorities. Is there something strange or sinister going on?

Are we to then think that maybe all 9 positions on the baseball team are being populated according to race?

More on this topic in my next post.

Bean-Counters and Baloney

Thursday, August 12, 2010

From that other blog

Just for the fun of it, here are the last two things I posted on BlogEvolve, a community blog.  The first is a sister to a post here, the second is unique.

sister post

unique

Street View, Literally

Over the years there have been numerous discussions about the 'Street View' feature of Google Maps.  There has been concern that the Google van equipped with special cameras was recording too much as it moved down the street.  Recently in Worcester, United Kingdom, the 'Street View' camera picked up much more than the neighborhood.  The cameras actually recorded the body of a 10 year old girl lying on the street.  Is she dead?


Fortunately, the girl was not dead, or even hurt.  Her and a friend had been playing and she had the fleeting thought to lay down and pretend she was dead.  It was at that point that the Google van drove by.  Turns out the girl didn't think anything of the vehicle she heard driving by.  Neither did she know her picture had been taken.

Azura, the girl,  said: ‘I didn’t know anything about the Google Street View car (recording me). I fell over while I was playing with my friend and thought it would be funny to play dead.  ‘I’m quite chuffed I’m on the Internet. It is quite funny and I can’t wait to tell my classmates when I go back to school.’

Article with more pictures.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Bloomberg wants to forget!

You may have seen in the news that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to build a Muslim mosque very close to Ground Zero. Liberal democrats seem to like this multicultural inclusivity, but most Americans find it appalling.

This sign for a bus ad campaign in New York was rejected.



When asked about the rejection, CBS Outdoor stated "images of 911 were not allowed." In a series of compromise revisions, the plane, smoke and flames were removed. Then the plane was put back in, but far from the building.

This exercise in censorship led to Freedom Defense Initiative filing a lawsuit against the city of New York. It was the Metropolitan Transit Authority that in the end refused the campaign because it contained 911 images.

Eventually, The MTA woke up and the jihad against free speech was stopped. The ad ran as originally designed.

As we approach September, it will be so important to post plenty of true 911 pictures so people like Bloomberg cannot squelch the truth.

The First Jock

The worthlessness of Obama continues to manifest itself in new ways. According to the liberal, Obama-loving Washington Post:

Quote begins:
"You must always remember that the president is about 6."

This advice was offered more than 100 years ago by a British friend of Teddy Roosevelt's. The nation has matured since then, and so has the presidency. Now the president is about 12.

While President Obama's wife and younger daughter were conducting international relations in Majorca on Sunday with Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, the commander in chief was at home hosting a fantasy camp for himself. He and his buddies had a birthday weekend barbecue and basketball game with LeBron James, Alonzo Mourning, Magic Johnson and other legends of the sport.

The day before, it was a four-hour golf outing for Obama and the boys. On Monday, he hosted the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints at the White House and talked about his own exploits on the gridiron last year with Saints quarterback Drew Brees. "He tossed me a nice tight spiral that I then lateraled to a kid on [Dallas Cowboys linebacker] DeMarcus Ware's shoulders," the president recalled. "I also want to point out I beat [Pittsburgh Steelers safety] Troy Polamalu over the middle on that throw." Obama turned to Brees. "You remember?"
Quote ends.

I suspect First Jock barely puts in a 40 hour week. Come the weekend, he has not a care in the world as Michelle and he spend our tax dollars on their pleasure. Definitely time to oust this loser!

Experience Asperger's Syndrome

Consider reading:

"House Rules" by Jodi Picoult

This book paints a realistic picture of life with Asperger's Syndrome. The fact that A.S. leads to a murder mystery will keep you pulled in. Here is the brief description from the library:

"With Asperger's syndrome, teenager Jacob Hunt is unable to have the same kind of social life other boys his age have. However, like other kids with AS, he has homed in on one particular interest: forensic analysis. He normally shows up to crime scenes and helps solve the case, but this time he is the prime suspect. When a murder leads police to question Jacob, they interpret his AS symptoms as a sign of guilt and cast a very public spotlight on Jacob and his family."

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

To Marinate a Cat

Let's just suppose you were going to eat your cat, and you thought that marinating would make the treat even more delectable. How would you do it? What would you marinate it with? Oh, by the way, you marinate the cat before it's dead. At least in Buffalo that is how they do it.

Sick, weird, disturbed or violent? Maybe all of the above.

Monday, August 09, 2010

Worthwhile Bumper Sticker

I liked the bumper sticker I saw today:

"I'll honor your president just like you honored mine!"

For eight years, democrats said the most nasty and dis-respectful things about President George Bush. Most of it was lies, which is why we saw it in the mainstream media every night.

So, what are the chances that a reasonable American citizen would honor Osama Obama, the first african president of the USA? Cannot imagine it ever happening, since he has clearly demonstrated that he knows nothing. Spouting campaign lies is all the community organizer has done and continues to do. Get Rid Of The Loser!

Giving Blood

One reason you might give blood to another person is that you are dead - tends to lower your resistance to any previous phobias.

Mauricio Mendez Lopez, 42 from Bartow, Fla has acknowledged drinking the blood of his brother, but does not remember what else happened. In a nutshell, the two men were fighting about one woman until a 15 pound dumbbell connected with the head of one of the men. The three are related to each other. Cruz did not die until Lopez came back later and stabbed him to death.

The woman later reported to the police "Lopez left with a plastic cup in his hand that appeared to hold blood. She said he drank from the cup in a strange ritual from their native Mexico.

All three adults are reported to be illegal immigrants. No doubt, Obama and Michelle (when she is broke in Spain) will do everything they can to promote these three up to the Whitehouse, or maybe the Supreme Court.

Which One Is The Wife?

When Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi get to celebrating the dumping of Proposition 8 by a gay judge, Portia becomes the wife. I guess that means Ellen is the husband.

In a bizarre, anti-feminist move, Portia de Rossi is taking the name of her beloved and becoming Portia Lee James DeGeneres.

What do you think of that?

Friday, August 06, 2010

O.B.A.M.A.

If you were one that made the wrong decision, then own up to it and vow never to do it again!


Thursday, August 05, 2010

Kagan Analogy



Elena Kagan approved for the U.S. Supreme Court - I can help you understnad this.

Elena Kagan being chosen as a Supreme Court Justice is equivalent to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Both decisions unbelievably ridiculus, and yet standard operating procedure for the Obama administration.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Obama, Birthday and the Giraffe


Those in the Obama cult (Organizing for America) are celebrating his birthday today. Of course, without a birth certificate, noone really knows. Forty nine years old and he is probably the most famous community organizer to hit the planet. As I was pondering why I was not celebrating this remarkable day, I came across an article about a baby giraffe being born in a zoo.

With little effort I found these similarities between Obama and a baby giraffe.

1. Long neck. One by nature's design, the other because of a mega-dose of pride and arrogance.

2. Wobbly legs. Obama's time as President has only confirmed what half the country knew even before he was elected - he is weak and wobbly as President. True Americans can find no reason to follow the first African president, for his lack of integrity and principles means he could topple at any time.

3. Spots. The giraffe has spots and markings, so does Obama. A leopard cannot change his spots, and neither can Obama. His spots were formed as an anti-American socialist longing for communism to rule the U.S. He and his wife despise the U.S. no less today than they did back then.

My apologies to the baby giraffe. Hopefully the emotional wounds inflicted by this comparison will heal quickly!

Meet Maxine Waters


Commentator Michelle Malkin has nicely captured Maxine Waters in this introduction:

"Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California is notorious for her high decibel rants against corporate executives and career exploitation of identity politics. Class warfare and racial division are her two-decade-long stock and trade. She would normally be first in line (and in front of the cameras) to lambaste the very kind of Porsche-driving, luxury beach house-partying bank officials who begged her for a government handout. If they were white, that is."

Creative Refreshments

This is ironic. I just went to get a cup of coffee, and I noticed that the company name on the coffee pot is 'Creative Refreshments'. Now, what do you think about that? Can you think of any refreshment more 'creative' than a cup of old coffee, which isn't much better when freshly brewed. What are they thinking?

Coffee - caffeine first, taste second!

The Cojones Factor

In a recent speech, Sarah Palin made this statement:

“Jan Brewer has the cojones that our president does not have. If our own president will not enforce our federal law, more power to Jan.”

Most people understand what Sarah Palin was saying, and she is absolutely correct. To ‘have the cojones’ means to have the backbone, grit, guts, moxi, sand or gumption to do the right thing; to do what needs to be done.

Obama is nothing more than a weenie, and is concerned only about his own well being. Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona, is doing what she needs to do to manage the illegal immigrant problem that is right on her door step. By the way, she is also enforcing existing Federal Law. Consider how many Federal employees we pay in the area of law enforcement, and yet they are not willing to do what Jan Brewer is doing.

Three cheers for Sarah Palin and Jan Brewer! Obama should go away and never come back!

Actually, that is not what I am writing about, though. I was thinking about a lady like Sarah Palin using the term ‘cojones’. The word is Spanish for testicles and previously would have been considered somewhat vulgar or offensive for public conversation. The earlier American version of the expression was to say that someone does not ‘have the balls’ to do something. Once again, this is an expression that most women would not be comfortable using.

As happens sometimes, a word is used and eventually develops its own meaning. Thus, when a woman uses the term ‘cojones’ in conversation and does not even blush or wince, you can assume she is not thinking of testicles.

I have been equally surprised by another expression that women use in conversation, and that is ‘brown nose’. The historical implication of that expression is clear and for a woman to casually use it means it has taken on a new interpretation.

Maybe you know of another example.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Shall We Make BP Suffer?

Now that the BP oil release has been capped and most of the oil either cleaned up or lost to sea, we can get down to the important issue of how much penalty should be paid by BP. What do you say? Shall we drain them dry?

The minds of many Americans are captivated by the liberal agenda and the propaganda they are fed daily by the democrats and the mainstream media. This propaganda boldly declares big business as evil and would love to see it crumble.

This is one strategy, for sure, and the agenda is at least in part to prevent another such disaster. But we do not want to miss the fact that blame does not lie totally with BP. EPA is charged with the responsibility to oversee oil handling activities in our waterways. EPA has at sometime in the past approved the spill contingency plan that states the planned response to a major release. Why did EPA not do their job right, and why are people not asking how we can punish the EPA?

In addition, we must note that BP funded and led the charge throughout this cleanup – not EPA. I think BP has been punished enough.

(No, I do not have any BP stock!)

Google Sites Meets Dusty

Special Day For All!

I have just created my first page on Google Sites. This feature used to be called Google Pages. I am absolutely not a web wizard of any sort, but still I was able to create this page.

My first google site.

No doubt, you will want to check it out, and you will love the contents!

Have a wonderful day!

Monday, August 02, 2010

A Dusty Conclusion

This issue partly caught my eye because it is an excellent example of what is wrong with not only EPA, but also most of big government. In a suit of arrogance and powered by an ego-driven engine, EPA believes they are big enough to change anything they choose. This obnoxious confidence in who they think they are leads them to create laws and regulations before they have any solid ideas for how to meet the new standards. This cart-before-the-horse approach causes a lot of confusion and wastes tons of resources.

EPA is way out of their league on this one.

As usual, we must wait to see what happens.

Can We Beat Dusty?

Tell me, if you can, exactly how will U.S. EPA reduce the amount of particulate leaving a farm? In one of the earlier pieces of this series I mentioned the control of dust at manufacturing facilities. Consider these standard approaches for controlling dust on a smaller scale:

1. spraying a parking lot or roadway with water at least once a day, and possibly more.
2. using water mixed with an organic emulsion to spray the dusty area (use of oil or petroleum products is no longer legal).
3. paving the area
4. reducing the speed of all vehicles that travel the dusty area, so less particulate is kicked up

That is about the extent of available dust control methods. You tell me, which of these is in any way possible for a farm?

By the way, there is a reason that soybeans are harvested when they are dry. If they are not dry, they will have to be dried prior to storage. (Think of the carbon emissions!)

Let EPA Take On Dusty

At this point, those representing the farming community are not making noise about the cost of determining current ambient concentrations. They are more concerned about the effect caused by approving the new lower ambient air quality standard. Once the new standards are approved, EPA will be required by law to demonstrate where the standards are being met and where not. This new standard could potentially create the scenario where a county that has never exceeded an ambient air quality standard, is now non-attainment for particulate.

EPA will need to determine what areas of the country do not meet the new standard. Then it will determine who is contributing to the excess of particulate emissions and develop programs to bring the particulate concentration below the final standard.

Farmers are quite smart to not want EPA to have this control!

How Dusty Am I?

When farmers hear of the proposed regulation, no doubt they wonder where they stand with regard to the new standard. Are they already generating dust at a level that exceeds the standard? Or, do they have nothing to worry about? Maybe they almost meet the new standard, but not quite.

How can they find out? The concentration of particulate in the ambient air leaving their farm is most likely determined in one of two ways:

1. The most direct approach is to use ambient air sampling equipment to measure the concentration of particulate leaving the farm. This ambient monitoring program must take into account variable wind conditions, and also variability of activity on the farm. Ultimately you want to prove that the ‘most dusty’ conditions still meet the ambient air quality standard.
2. The second approach may not be so obvious. It involves running air dispersion computer models. Necessary input data includes information about the property, wind conditions, level of activity on the farm and days with rainfall. Other parameters may also be required to represent real world conditions to the computer model. The computer model is run and generates a grid of anticipated high ambient concentrations.

Both of these methods will cost the farmer money, and I am not talking pocket change. Is this really a good idea?

Define Dusty

So how dusty is too dusty? Exactly what is the EPA proposal that has farmers concerned?

According to the letter from the 21 Senators, the issue involves EPA’s current review of the NAAQS (national ambient air quality standard) for particulate. The Clean Air Act requires an EPA review of these air quality standards every 5 years. The air quality standard is the benchmark that determines the amount of particulate matter allowable before generating health concerns.

The existing NAAQS for particulate is 150 ug/M3. That is micro-grams of particulate per cubic meter of air. EPA’s recent proposal involves reducing this standard to 65 – 85 ug/M3, making the new standard twice as stringent as the old.

Big Dusty Deal or Not?

So what do you think about the EPA intending to control the dust generated on farms?

When dust is kicked up on a farm, some of the particles are large enough they will settle out and fall back to the ground. The concern for EPA is the smaller particles that remain airborne and eventually become part of the air you and I breathe. The inhalation of particles from all kinds of sources is proving to be more of a health concern. Shall we all agree that the EPA is on the right track?

Maybe not. A letter addressed to Lisa Jackson, US EPA Administrator is contains this statement: “We respect efforts for a clean and healthy environment, but not at the expense of common sense.” This letter is signed by 21 of the U.S. Senators.

Don’t pitch your common sense just yet!

Dusty is the Farmer?

Apparently the U.S. EPA is giving consideration as to how they can crackdown on farm dust. Farm dust can be generated by livestock walking, the harvesting of soybeans on a dry day or a vehicle driving on a gravel road. These and similar activities occur frequently on any working farm.

Many who have worked in industry have experienced how hard it is to control dust from a parking lot or material handling operation. That is absolutely peanuts compared to controlling dust from farm activities!

Undecided

It has been over a year since I posted on this blog. Life is always changing and my blogging interests have changed. Remembering how much I have enjoyed blogging in the past, I have often wanted to start again, but I have a problem. It is a simple problem, not complicated. It is just so hard for me to decide what to write about and what kind of blog I want to have. Much of what I wrote in the past was fueled by passion about the politics of our country. My core beliefs on that situation have not changed, but I am not so inclined to spend time on it these days. The current President, although the politically correct skin color, is so worthless as an individual as a president that I could just puke! See, you got me going again.

So, if you do not want me to rant and rave about Obama and the worthless politicians running this country, give me another idea.

Have a nice day.

Dennis