The Leopard Cub is A Good Conservative.

So yesterday I went to Wally World to try to replace the Froggie that Cochise' Apache Princess turned into a Democrat by pulling everything out of poor Froggie's head. No Froggies, as a matter of fact only one of the Hartz noisy toys left, a Leopard cub.

We got the ferocious beast home and Eddie T. Dog claimed him as his own, This is good news as CAP is the one that kills the stuffies in minutes. Eddie licks and chews, CAP rips and tears.

In other news we got the word from our daughter. Grandchild number ten is due on June 16th. He will be the ninth grandson. I do believe I've mentioned that we seem to run long on boys and short on cash. The kids have decided to name him Karson Andrew XXX. We are kind of hoping that it will be a little while before he becomes XXX, though. I've been too polite to suggest spelling lessons.

The dogs are looking forward to having another boy to play with.

Obambi's Dream World

Now it has been almost forty years since I took off Uncle's suit but there is something about Barry O's latest story that rings way false. He alleges that a now Captain, then Lieutenant, had most of his platoon rotated out before they went to Afghanistan and that , once there, they had to scrounge AKs and other Taliban weapons to fight.

Understand that this is the Army so they might have done some stupid things (although I am not supposed to insult the Army 'til the war is over, per orders from Linda Lou) but I doubt that even the Army would try to use a Kalashnikov in a firefight. The 7.62x39 has a very distinctive sound, far different than our 5.56 mm. There is also the little matter of green tracers instead of our red.

Even if my whole platoon knew that some of us were using captured weapons what would happen if the doo-doo got really deep and another outfit came to rescue us, or we needed Apache gunships? Just what would those rotorheads do if they came upon a firefight and saw green tracers coming from a position?

I don't know about now but in my day they'd light it up.

The only people I know of that used captured weapons were some of the Sneaky Petes, those boys in the Girl Scout Hats who would sometimes use them to sow a little confusion into the ranks of the Little People.

I could be wrong here, again my experience is rather old. I would, though, want names and duty stations of those telling me different. Otherwise this sounds too much like those "friends" that Dick Gephardt used to have.

I do not understand why the frontrunner of a major political party cannot find an old snuffy to vet the speeches.

Update: Just in case one is a literalist...There were no Apache gunships when I was in. My branch didn't even have Hueys, much less Cobras. Not that we weren't pleased to be where the Army helos work close enough to lend a hand when needed. Our birds still used piston engines, mostly, and our pilots didn't like to get too close to the loud noises. For good reason, it was like trying to fight a fire while wearing gasoline underwear.

McCain

So I was talking with my political advisors, Ming the Merciless, Eddie T. Dog and Cochise' Apache Princess and asking about the NYT story about McCain. All three asked what could I expect. McCain was the media darling when he was attacking Bush. Now that Bush is not going to be the nominee again and the media has successfully driven the conservatives out of the race they are reverting to form.

So, Republicans, how does it feel to know that you have let the New York Times pick your nominee? Did you really think the Times would stick with him? Oh, and Republicans? You can stop with the idea that I owe you my vote.You have been retreating from conservatism sine the '94 elections. You have been voting liberal ever since and trying to keep us is line by threatening us with liberals if we didn't vote for you. Understand this, Republicans, I owe you nothing. The campaign slogan of "we will not stab you in the back as deep as the Democrats!" does not inspire me.

In other news the dogs have created a Democrat voter. If you look carefully at the pictures you will see them with a Froggie. Well, they have ripped him open and removed all the stuffing from his head. As soon as Froggie's head was completely empty he quit saying "ribbit" when we pushed his little button and started saying "Obama".

So, Now She Is Finally Proud Of Her Country?

So, I'm minding my own business, not bothering anybody, when I read how Michelle Obama is, for the first time in her adult life, proud of her country.

Let me get this straight in my head. Here is a racial minority. A woman. She has an Ivy League law degree. She has had good jobs her whole adult life. Her Husband is a United States Senator with a fairly good chance to be the nominee for President.

Ms. Obama has traveled. She has seen how women live in other countries. She has seen how minorities live in other countries. And only now can she be proud of her country? She has children that are growing up privileged. And only now?


I am retired from a job that no honest man could ever expect to become rich. Honest men in foreign countries in my line of work live in small apartments and bicycle to work. I live in a paid for home on a half acre near the lake. My car is paid for. We are officially in the lower third of income levels here and I am writing on a (paid for) computer. Suppose Mrs. Obama was living where her husband's father lived. Suppose too that she were not wealthy. Would she have a good job? Would she even have all her girl parts?

There is something seriously wrong with liberals. Nowhere on Earth do the poor live as well as they do in America. Nowhere do the middle class live as well. Well, maybe Australia comes close. No where on this planet do minorities have the opportunities as they do here. Libs are always saying that patriots cannot see the warts on the USA. That is wrong. We see the warts, we also see the good. Libs can only see the warts. It is disgusting.

Exciting Finish

So, you watch the Daytona 500? I don't write much about NASCAR, if you understand the sport you don't need me to tell you about it and if you don't understand it nothing I say will do much good.

I am really glad to see Ryan Newman take the checkered flag, it's been a very long time. The Ryan Newman fans aren't like the Junior Nation, I don't know of may people who would have to worry about what to do with old tatoos if Ryan changed numbers. Still, he is a genuine nice guy. We don't see it much because he isn't always on camera but one could hurt himself laughing around him.

And Newman has used his engineering degree, too. Not many folks know more about making a car go fast than him. It was also a real pleasure seeing his team mate, Kurt Busch, matching bumpers and pushing him to the front like that. Busch, one of the sport's bad boys, acted like he might finally be growing up. That, too, would be pleasing. Kurt has so much talent, if he ever gets the maturity to go with it, watch out.

Anyway, almost everyone should be pleased, Junior Nation ought to be happy, Dale Jr.had a good finish, probably would have been better but for the miscommunication that left the 88 out on older tires.

About the only folks unhappy would be the Hendricks Motorsports fans. That team didn't do very well, just mostly bad luck it looked like.

Anyhow it ought to be an exciting year.

Durned Dawg!

So I got up on Valentine's Day ready to do various things. I fixed breakfast for my sweetie and got ready to go online to find out the day's news. Nothing. No intertubes.

So I went outside and found the problem, the place where the phone company guy had spliced the line together was broken. Now that was broken by the dog, specifically Cochise' Apache Princess. That wire is too high off the ground for Pugs to break.

So, $99.00 later the phone company repairman had the wire replaced. I was willing to try to splice it together but he had spliced in another type of wire and the colors didn't match.

So I never bothered to take pictures for Doggie Friday. Anybody want to buy a dog? I keep hoping this one will grow past the destructodog phase before I am homeless but I'm not taking bets.

Candles And Big Wax Spills.

Well, I am proceeding in teaching myself candle making. I was all set to go to my Cowboy Action Shooting Club's work day but Army Wife, Toddler Mom sent the bug that has them down through the internets and now I'll have to get better to die.

So, I was supposed to go help paint and rip the top off the blockhouse and then help hang the steel targets for today's shoot. Instead I stayed home and used tissues, mostly. And then I'd cough until I felt a little hairy ring in my throat, swallowed hard, and repeated.

It's really annoying, too. If I'd made the work day I could have had a practice shoot, for free. Instead, no. It's really annoying. I have a few boxes of those new (to me) sparklers, the ones that aren't on steel rods, and I have a bunch of those cut up into some shotgun shells, along with the black powder, wads and bird shot. If I have this figured right it should be very visually impressive. Oh well, maybe next month.

So, I have a few really impressive smelling candles, the problem is with the wicks. I don't know if the young lady I spoke to didn't know what she was doing or if I, somehow, misspoke but the wicks are too small in diameter for the size of my containers. It's more likely my fault.

Now I've made the candles work, by putting another wick in the bottom of the containers, I just stick the already made candle into a two hundred degree F oven until the wax is melted, plunk the other wick down and, viola! Trouble is, the old wicks are glued in the middle, already so the geometry is off. Oh well, it's experimental, anyhow.

I did try taking one wick off it's little metal tab or base and wrapped it round another wick and glued that in the bottom of one jar. That worked, nicely. That is what I'll do with the rest of the jars I haven't already glued a wick in, not many. Oh well, when I have the melting, wicking and fragrance down I'm buying a gross of jars. I'm looking hard at the 16 ounce Mason/jelly jars. These are five and a half inches tall by three inches in diameter. The wax blend I'm using, that will make a candle that really lasts.

The soy wax, with just a little real beeswax, does make a candle that burns and burns. I am going to have to buy a couple of melting/pouring pitchers, the old two saucepan country boy double boiler rig spills too much. This brings complaints from the kitchen management. And my reloading powder funnels don't work real well to move the fragrance oil from the big bottle to the one ounce bottle I use for measuring. And that fragrance oil stuff is WAY too expensive to be spilling. Oh well, this is a learning experience, right?

I have figured out what to do if the Democrats win this next election. I am going to buy a big bottle of the patchouli scented oil and sprinkle some on the deck and back steps. Then when they come for me the stench will throw off the dogs.


In other news, the thing that started this whole candle mess, that new bullet lube. I think it will work. I must melt down that fifty+ pounds of plumber's lead, add some tin and cast a few hundred .45 bullets. Then lube and and try it. Of course everyone acts like black powder bullet lube is some kind of rocket surgery or brain science. Truth be told, almost any wax/shortening or tallow mixture works. Just don't use pork or beef tallow for stuff you want to keep around. Once that lard gets rancid the stuff still lubes the bullets and keeps the powder fouling soft but it smells something awful. Now mutton tallow works and so does deer tallow. Me, I just use veggie shortening, the kind with no salt or butter flavor.

Okay, it is now Tuesday night. We had a big rain and thunderstorm last night.CAP is now a mud monster again. As usual we lost the phone and the internet until late this afternoon when the sun dried out the wiring. Seems that the phone company will not repair the kind of wiring we have and it will be some months before we can afford to replace it with the kind they do guarantee. Oh well, it's not like I talk on the phone. It does annoy me to lose the 'net.

We also lost the TV Satellite service. The annoying thing about that is that it is difficult to understand the East Indian accents of the tech support folks. We have it back now after much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Last, anyone with a prayer or good wish to spare can visit Tammi, of Tammi's World and see how her family is weathering the rough patch. I haven't been there yet today due to the internet problem but when last there I couldn't even leave an attagirl comment to my tall pal, her hosting company was having a spam attack. The nice thing about being a blogger nobody ever heard of is little to no spam.

Well that is my big week so far. I must go swallow a hairy ring now.

No More Politics For These Dogs.

The dogs have decided no more politics for a while. They claim it is bad for my blood pressure. They may be right. So I am going to play with the dogs and practice making candles and my new kind of bullet lube.


When, or if, the Republican Party wants to go back to it's conservative roots, they can call me. The dogs want me to write in Sunny Lucas for President. Suits me. We could save a lot of money with a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix in that office. I'm pretty sure the Secret Service bill would go down, ever seen the teeth on one of those critters?

The cost of Air Force One would go down, as we'd have to replace that big ol' jet with a small plane with a window for her to stick her head out. State dinners would be short and cheap. Even Science Diet is cheaper than that fancy stuff the human politicians eat. And think of the savings when we pay her in pork. Yes, and Sunny would give new meaning to the term "pork barrel politics". Just think of the Border Patrol under a Sunny Lucas Administration. Take a bite out of border crime.

So, in other news, I got the stuff to make a few candles. Unfortunately there is a problem keeping them lit. The wax melts and tuns over the wick and puts it out. I seem to bemember reading that this is a sign that the wick is too small. So in one candle I put it in the oven at 200 degrees F and when the wax was all melted I inserted another wick. Since the wicks are already glued in it wasn't centered right but it's burning well. So I am learning. I think I am going to have to buy jars, all in a bunch, from a candle making place instead of the flea market. The trouble with the flea market is each different size of jar needs a different wick.

Oh well, the lilac smells good and the candle place sent an ounce of a different scent oil, "clean cotton". It smells like fresh sheets, right off the clothes line.

I would take it as a favor if no one asks why the dog pictures are at the bottom. I did not change anything. Furthermore, don't anyone ask why the Bad Example Family Blogroll is visible when I access this on aol and invisible in Firefox.

So, Now What?

So, my state, Texas, doesn't vote until March fourth,but most of the people I would have voted for are out. Somehow that feels wrong. Worse, the one man I would never vote for is the Republican frontrunner. All those really smart people are telling me I must suck it up and vote for the man that has constantly stuck his finger in my eye because he is the conservative. He is for open borders. He wants to shut down Gitmo. He fought the tax cuts. He actively fought the conservative judges.

Um, that is my agenda. So, I must get behind McCain because otherwise someone who fought the tax cuts, wants to shut down Gitmo, , favors open borders and will fight against conservative judges will win.

Okay, I admit that I'm not the smartest guy in the world. But someone explain why I should work for someone who explicitly called me a racist because I want our border enforced. I have been compromising since the Reagan years, getting about the same promises from the Republicans that black Americans get from the Democrats. Just work with us through this one election and then we'll keep our promise. Except now they say we've beaten those nasty conservatives and they'll like it. Vote with us or you get a foul mouthed big spender, only this time it's no matter how you vote.

Well, I've had it.I'll vote for my Congressman, Jeb Hensarling did a pretty good job. I'll stick with John Cornyn. The rest of the Republican Party can compromise with anyone they want. If they ever decide to compromise with me, again, we'll talk. But as long as getting along with Democrats is more important than getting along with me, it doesn't look very good.

Battle For The Soul Of The Party

We might as well face it, we will probably lose the '08 election. The "country club" wing of the Republican Party have decided that McCain is their man and they will gladly lose this election if it means getting rid of those nasty Christian Conservatives. As lose we will if McCain is the nominee.

Does anybody besides McCain really think that the big Washington/New York/California media will back McCain in the general? Or will the media suddenly remember the Keating five? Will the media suddenly discover McCain's temper and foul mouth? Or will the media go back to form, hating anyone to the right of Vladamir Lenin?

There is a branch of the Republican Party that wants very much to throw the Religious Right over the side. Well, that is fine but be prepared to lose election after election. It is the Religious Right that mans the phone banks. It is the Religious Right that walks the precincts.

The Jurassic Park Republicans do not care about this election, if they can only rid themselves of us troublesome conservatives they'll suffer through four years of Obama or Clinton. One election means nothing if they can defeat those who fought against the McCain Kennedy Amnesty Bill.

The trouble is that McCain will not win, and in losing he will break up the big tent coalition. We will be looking at another generation of lefty governments as in FDR's time.

Berkeley, 1967

I spent the Spring and Summer of 1967 in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had a little bad luck and had a badly broken leg so they sent me to the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland. Then I went to the convalescent barracks at the Treasure Island Base, both long closed now.

The actions of the present day Berkeley City Council come as no surprise. Once I was able to go on pass I I found a place in Oakland, very near the border with Berkeley that was on the bus line and had an owner that wasn't exactly careful about checking the IDs of us Marines and Sailors in uniform, since I turned twenty that year, that was important. Beer, in those days, was a major food group.

Sometime during that Spring the antiwar types got ugly. It became unsafe to wait at that bus stop alone and in uniform. Things were thrown and if a guy was on crutches or in plaster the peace and love types would physically attack him. Peace was important to them, so important that they always tried for the wallet, too. The trouble was when we were in uniform. If we wore civvies we were okay, trouble is we couldn't buy beer. So we tried to stay in groups.

Seems those young peaceloving thugs are all grown up now and on the City Council.