Hey Pope, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over.

OK, I hate to bash the Pope, as he does occasionally do something good, but his comments seem to me to indicate that maybe he has no idea what a condom is, what it does, or how AIDS is transmitted. Sexual abstinence is a pipe dream, especially in 3rd World countries. If you don't have cable T.V., sex is your entertainment. I know the Catholic Church wants it's followers to refrain from using birth control. I understand that they feel the need to grow their "fellowship" and that since the Dark Ages, their method of doing this was to have poor people breed. However, I think it is time that the Catholic Church joined to rest of us in the 21st Century and acknowledged that people do have sex for reasons other than procreation, and that if sex can kill you, it is the basic right and responsibility of all human beings to use something that will keep you alive.

From Fox News-
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that the distribution of condoms is not the answer in the fight against AIDS in Africa.
Benedict has never before spoken explicitly on condom use although he has stressed that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against AIDS. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease.
"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."

White House forsakes our Veterans

The White House this week took the opportunity to slap Americas Veterans and Active Duty Serviceman and women in the face by promoting a program that would require them to use private insurance to pay for service related injuries. With this plan, an American Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine injured in combat would not be required to have thier private insurance carrier reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for their treatment. Just a reminder, the VA was started with the purpose of providing care to wounded vets. Your tax dollars pay for it. These fine folks who have shed their blood when America called will now have to pay expensive insurance premiums to have their wounds tended. Wounds they received in battles that this country sent them to! This is the ultimate insult and a degrading cheapining of all their sacrifices. When veterans groups pushed back against the White House, they were told to "come up with something better themselves". Shame on our government. The least we can do is take care of those who have served this country.

From Fox News- President Obama's plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs for the treatment of troops injured in service has infuriated veterans groups who say the government is morally obligated to pay for service-related medical care.
Calling it a "desperate search for money at any cost," Craig Roberts, media relations manager for the American Legion, told FOXNews.com on Tuesday that the president will "wish away so much political capital on this issue" if he continues to insist on private coverage for service-related injuries.
Cmdr. David K. Rehbein of the American Legion, the nation's largest veterans group, called the president's plan to raise $540 million from private insurers unreasonable, unworkable and immoral.
"This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate 'to care for him who shall have borne the battle,' given that the United States government sent members of the Armed Forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies," Rehbein said late Monday after a meeting with the president and administration officials at the Veterans Affairs Department.
"I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service-connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans," Rehbein said.
Roberts said that 11 veterans service organizations were told to come up with another plan if they didn't like this one. The groups met on Monday with Obama, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and Office of Management and Budget defense spending chief Steven Kosiak.
"What we've been tasked with now is to raise this money through alternative means and we're supposed to have a conference call in two or three days ... with Rahm Emanuel. So the implication was ... you guys come up with a better idea or this is what's going to happen," Roberts said.
A call to the White House was not immediately returned. But a summary of the proposed budget says the president wants to increase funding for VA by $25 billion over five years, and bring more than 500,000 eligible veterans of modest income into the VA health care system by 2013.
"The president's avowed purpose in doing this is to, quote, 'make the insurance companies pay their fair share,'" Roberts said. But he said it will raise premiums, make insurance unaffordable for veterans and impose a massive hardship on military families. It could also prevent small businesses from hiring veterans who have large health care needs, he said.
"It's not the Blue Cross that puts soldiers in harm's way, it's the federal government," Roberts said, adding that the American Legion would like the existing system to remain in place. Service-related injuries currently are treated and paid for by the government. The American Legion has proposed that Medicare reimburse the VA for the treatment of veterans.
He said that the argument about the government's moral obligation to treat wounded soldiers, sailors and Marines fell on deaf ears during the meeting.
"The president deflected any discussion when it got into any moral issue here," he said. "Any attempt to direct the conversation (to the moral discussion) was immediately deflected."
Private insurance is separate for troops who need health care unrelated to their service. But Roberts noted that if a wounded warrior comes back and needs ongoing treatment, he or she could run up "to the max of the coverage in very short order," leaving his family with nothing
Roberts added that how the plan would raise $540 million "is a great mystery and it seems to be an arbitrary number. ... The commander said it seemed like this phantom number."
Monday's meeting was preceded by a letter of protest earlier this month signed by Rehbein and the heads of 10 service organizations. It read that "there is simply no logical explanation" for the plan to bill veterans' personal insurance "for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide."
The letter called it "unconscionable" to shift the burden of the country's "fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country." Rehbein testified to both the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on those same points last week.

Happy Birthday, Chief!

There is no cooler kid on the planet, no better buddy around and no finer son that any man could wish for. You are one of a kind and you make us very proud. Hope you have a wonderful birthday.

If you want my vote in 2012...

I am a Libertarian when it comes to politics. I believe that bigger government is not an answer to any scenario. I want to live in a country where economic conservatism is the rule. I want a country that is well defended, but does not seek to push its agenda in other countries through the use of its military. I think the Constitution and the Bill or Rights are documents written and signed in the blood of our forefathers, and the principles outlined in them should be the ultimate law when determining the course of our nation.
Yet in every election since 1992 I have voted Republican. Why? To me, it seemed to be the party most closely aligned with my beliefs that stood a chance of getting elected. In America, a vote for a 3rd party candidate has always seemed to be a futile gesture. But the events of 2008 have pushed me over the edge. The party I had aligned myself with spent 8 years chipping away at what makes our country good and strong, then frittered away any chance at keeping power by running a sub par candidate for President (as much as I admire John McCain for his dedication and service to America, he was simply not the man for the job). Their mismanagement of the office of President has brought about the most frightening thing I have seen in my lifetime. Socialism as national policy. I know I will never vote for a Democrat, but at this point, I cannot see myself ever voting Republican either. And I know I am not alone. I have decided to put forth my beliefs on what the Republicans MUST do to once again become the party of the people, and get my vote.

1. The Republican Party must officially recognize its mismanagement of this country and make amends. Although I admire President Bush’s boldness in his response to the attacks of 9/11, his subsequent actions are a shameful piece of American history. The erosion of our 4th Amendment rights under the Patriot Act is a direct attack on all our Civil Liberties. Our actions in being involved in a deadly, costly and unnecessary war in Iraq have resulted in the loss of American lives and countless trillions of dollars in waste. The lack of response to the current banking and housing crises, when the potential danger was very evident, is simply inexcusable. Republicans must admit that mistakes were made, and must show America that they have learned from those mistakes.

2. The Republican Party must officially recognize the Constitution and Bill of Rights as the penultimate rules and regulations for conducting business as this nations government. It must commit itself to never again allowing, or causing a protection guaranteed by one of these documents to be circumvented, ignored or taken away. This includes such important steps as recognizing that the Second Amendment extends to the individual citizens of this country, and recognizing that many previous administrations have violated the Tenth Amendment in not respecting the sovereignty of the individual States when making Federal Law. It also includes recognizing that religious dogma is best left up to individuals and has no place in crafting governmental policy, however, a clear moral compass is a requirement.

3. The Republican Party must once again assure that it is the party of fiscal conservatism. It should take an economic stand and adopt the proven assumption that economies flourish when the individual is not taxed excessively and is allowed to determine when and how his income will be spent or saved. It should adopt the policy that the function of the government is not to spend money, but to save it. It should adopt an Amendment to the Constitution that requires a balanced Federal budget, accomplished by spending cuts, not tax increases.

4. The Republican Party should commit itself to allowing a free market economy, and to keeping government out of business. The Republican Party should be committed to decreasing, then eliminating any Federal ownership of private banks and lending institutions, stop the current trend of corporate welfare and decrease business taxes as a tool to increase business investment in new jobs, expanded infrastructure and new technology.

5. The Republican Party should commit itself to be the party of reform when it comes to governmental projects and agencies. It should commit to reviewing each and every Federally owned or managed entity to ensure it is being run in an efficient and financially competent manner. It should further commit itself to limiting and the decreasing the size of all Federal Agencies and decreasing, then eliminating entitlement programs such as welfare and farm subsidies.

6. The Republican Party must recognize that the government works at the behest of the individual citizens of this country, and should organize itself, and any administrations it may get into office around this principle. The 2 most important questions an American government must ask itself when making decisions that affect its citizenry are; “Is this allowed by our Constitution?” and “Is this going to benefit the people that I serve?”

If the Republican Party can do this, I would consider supporting them. Until then, I will continue to throw my vote away on 3rd party candidates who, although they will not be elected, at least share my beliefs.

Happy as a pig in...

Well America, it’s done. The President has signed the pork laden Spending…Errr..I mean Stimulus Bill into law. Everyone line up at the trough.
In case you were wondering where your future tax dollars will be going, I have a short list of some of the projects in the bill from http://www.stimuluswatch.org/ .
Laurel, MS
Doorbells
Cost $99,600.00 - 2 jobs Created
Turns out this is nearly 100k to put doorbells in the residences of elderly Laurel residents. 2 doorbells in each unit. 1 at the door for obvious reasons, and 1 inside the unit for signalling distress. Seriously? How about we call it 3k and buy each of them an air horn to toot?
Austin, TX
Raul Alvarez Disc Golf Course: This project will develop a 36-hole disc golf course that will be environmentally and financially sustainable.
Cost $886,000.00 - 4 jobs created
Disc golf has to be the queerest sport ever. And if a Disc golf course was financially sustainable, some dirty Hippy company in Austin would have built it. Did you know that Austin has 7 disc golf courses already? Austin needs another disc golf course like it needs more waiters with Masters Degrees or pierced and tattooed Elementary School teachers.
Chula Vista, CA
Sunset View Park - dog park construction
cost $500,000.00 - 7 jobs created
500k for a Dog Park? What do dogs need besides some grass and a fire hydrant? They are going to spend all their time sniffing each other anyway, couldn't that be accomplished in a vacant lot?
Dayton, OH
Initiative to Reduce Prostitution-Off the Streets Program. This initiative would connect individuals involved in prostitution with resources to leave a life of prostitution. Beginning with emergency shelter and continuing with an array of educational
Cost $1,500,000.00 - 0 jobs created
This is sheer madness. Not only does it create no new jobs, it takes working women and makes them unemployed. And a Million 5 to do it? How many prostitutes are there in Dayton? Maybe we can just split the cash with them.
Los Angeles, CA
Solar LA Program
cost $2,160,000,000.00 - 31243 jobs created
OK, I can see some merit in this project. It does create jobs, and it uses sustainable energy. That is good. However, if projects like this actually generated money, they would have already been done by private industry. Remember private industry. It was the backbone of America before Socialism took over. Back when the government did not think it was smarter than American businessmen and women.
San Diego, CA
Downtown Quiet Zone
cost $20,000,000.00 - 0 jobs created
20 million dollars. Seriously? When I looked the detail up on this one, it basically boils down to changing train crossings to have lights and arms so that trains going through downtown are not required to blow their horns at every crossing. 20 million and no jobs? Screw San Diego, get used to the noise.
Albuquerque, NM
New Mexico Events Center, Hotel and Events Center and related infrastructure located in Downtown Albuquerque
cost $418,300,000.00 - 14000 jobs created
I liked this one until I saw that the hotel was a Sheraton. Shouldn’t Sheraton pay to have it built? Why am I paying for something that returns an investment directly to a private company? Isn’t that why they are in business? To build and operate hotels, right? Can I stay there for free?
Austin, TX
Boardwalk along Lady Bird Lake: The project will close a 1.3-mile gap in a heavily used pedestrian and bicycle trail system. The trail extension will improve safety and provide additional access to a major bike and pedestrian corridor.
cost $18,000,000.00 - 60 jobs created
A hike and bike trail? For 18 Million? Nice for all the Lance Armstrong wannabes, but not a sustainable job producer at all. Once it is built, all the illegals who built it will be out of work again. Not like they are paying taxes anyway.
Cidra, PR
Improve track and land for little league parking
cost $150,000,000.00 - 43 jobs created
This is a 150 Million dollar parking lot. For a Little League ballpark. Someone should be hanged for slipping this in here.
Seriously America, you are about to take on a tax burden that your great grand children will still not have paid off and you let every dirty politician sidle up and take a turn slipping their pork into this bill like the football team did to your slutty older sister on Prom night. Shame on all of us.

Is Washington listening to America?

The White House today used a typical tactic in deflecting the critisism of Robert Santelli, a CNBC personality and member of the Chicago Board of Trade. Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary, whose only jobs in life have been in politics, insinuated that Mr. Santelli was out of touch with the pulse of the American people when he called for a "Chicago Tea Party" to protest the Presidents Stimulus Bill. Saying:

"I'm not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs during a press briefing. "But the American people are struggling every day to meet their mortgage, stay in their job, pay their bills, to send their kids to school, and to hope that they don't get sick or that somebody they care for gets sick and sends them into bankruptcy. I think we left a few months ago the -- the adage that, if it was good for a derivatives trader, that it was good for Main Street. I think the verdict is in on that."

Mr Gibbs also insinuated that the President was smarter then Mr. Santelli, who is college educated and has years of experience in the financial sector by saying:

"now, every day when I come out here, I spend a little time reading, studying on the issues, asking people who are smarter than I am questions about those issues. I would encourage him to read the president's plan and understand that it will help millions of people, many of whom he knows. I'd be more than happy to have him come here and read it."

He ended the tirade by suggesting that Mr. Santelli was simply overwrought, saying:

"I'd be happy to buy him a cup of coffee," Gibbs wryly added, in remarks he seemed to have prepared. "Decaf."

This is how the office of the chief executive of our United States responds to any criticism of their policies. They are dismissive, arrogant and refuse to debate their position. This administration seems to have decided what was best for America without letting us have a say. As if their election was a mandate to run this country by their rules, with no input from the outside. I see this as a very reckless direction to steer our country in. A distant, despotic ruler once tried to bend the citizenry of America to his will. He was George of England, and by the end of it, blood was spilled and history was changed. I hope the man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue took a history class at Harvard because I don't want to see it happen in my lifetime.

Mmmmmm, Chili Mac...

Recently, I decided to augment our Survival and Camping pantry with some vacuum sealed meals. Mountain House is sold at our local REI. Wal-Mart and Academy stores, so I thought I would give it a try. To be honest, I did not expect much from a pre-packaged meal. As it turned out, I was pleasantly surprised. I purchased a 20 ounce pack of MH Chili Mac and an 8 ounce pack of MH Sweet Corn for my son and I to try. Following the directions on the pack, I boiled some water and measured the correct amount into each pouch, sealed the pouch, sloshed the water around and waited to listed amount of time (5-6 minutes). Upon opening the Chili Mac, the smell was very noticeable. It smelled like Chili Mac! I portioned it up on plates, then checked the corn. The corn looked good, but did not have much smell. I added a little salt and some margarine for flavor and portioned it out as well. Both items were firm, not mushy, although the kidney beans in the Chili Mac could have used some more water, a few of them were still crunchy, but edible. The taste was excellent. The Chili Mac needed no additional spices. The corn was firm and juicy, almost like frozen corn. Both my son and I were full at the end of the meal. If you are looking for an easy to make camping food, or something you can store long term or carry in a Bug Out Bag, I can whole heartedly recommend Mountain House entrees and side dishes!