Gas Prices

A Primer on Gas Prices

In 2004, the price of crude oil averaged $36.97 per barrel, and crude oil accounted for about 47% of the cost of a gallon of regular grade gasoline (Figure 1). In comparison, the average price for crude oil in 2003 was $28.50 per barrel, and it composed 44% of the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline. The share of the retail price of regular grade gasoline that crude oil costs represent varies somewhat over time and among regions.

The cost to produce and deliver gasoline to consumers includes the cost of crude oil to refiners, refinery processing costs, marketing and distribution costs, and finally the retail station costs and taxes. The prices paid by consumers at the pump reflect these costs, as well as the profits (and sometimes losses) of refiners, marketers, distributors, and retail station owners.

Federal, State, and local taxes are a large component of the retail price of gasoline. Taxes (not including county and local taxes) account for approximately 23 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline.

Refining costs and profits comprise about 18% of the retail price of gasoline.

Distribution, marketing and retail dealer costs and profits combined make up 12% of the cost of a gallon of gasoline.

Instead of joining the lynch mob we need to educate ourselves and look for the real reasons the price of gas is so high. Some of those things we can't do anything about and some we can. More refineries, less taxes and opening up drilling in the U.S. are things we can control, one or a combination of which will help.

"Big Oil" is not the problem. Our biggest problem is the lynch mob mentality and the people inciting it. More taxes will not help. More taxes are not the answer. More taxes will hurt. More taxes for oil companies means higher prices for you. It all gets passed on to you. Just say no to more taxes.

Here's a great page about oil: Some interesting oil industry statistics

The Mushroom Cloud is on its Way!

Islamist protest in N.Y.

Yes, New York. Another peaceful message brought to you by peaceful Muslims. Neal Boortz has more.

The mushroom cloud is on its way! The real Holocaust is on its way!"

"Israel won't last long ... Indeed, Allah will repeat the Holocaust right on the soil of Israel"

Maneater?

We went to a reptile show and James got his picture taken with a tiger! Go figure. But it was cool! Baby tigers are so cute, I would love to take one home. They are adorable! Too bad they grow big enough to eat you. I wanted to get a picture of him holding a snake but my batteries (and backup batteries) went dead. Damn rechargable batteries.

New Addition To The Family

This is my new Viper Boa (Candoia Aspera). We had a good time at the Florida International Reptile Show.

Puppy

I saw the cutest puppy today at the petshop. Someone threw it out of a car and they are trying to find a home for it. She said it was a Shepherd/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. I don't know but it does have German Shepherd in it. It was just laying on the floor sleeping. Kids were gathered around petting it but it was just so calm. I thought a little too calm. The owner said he was playing around with her earlier and he was just hot now. Still, puppies aren't usually that calm.

I know they will find it a good home, I don't want a large dog and Irma doesn't want a dog right now at all. James sure loved it though. I wish James was that calm sometimes.

Capitan Insano

Wave of Violent Crime Sweeps Venezuela

"The rich are condemned to hell. Christ himself condemned them," Chavez said in a speech Tuesday. "I say it from the heart: to be rich is evil."

To be rich is evil, unless you happen to be one of the "political elite."

Ann Coulter

You may not like her style but ... I like her latest column.

Lie down with strippers, wake up with pleas

The liberal charge of "hypocrisy" has so permeated the public consciousness that no one is willing to condemn any behavior anymore, no matter how seedy. The unstated rule is: If you've done it, you can't ever criticize it -- a standard that would seem to repudiate the good works of the Rev. Franklin Graham, Malcolm X, Whittaker Chambers and St. Paul, among others.

Every woman who has had an abortion feels compelled to defend abortion for all women; every man who's ever been at a party with strippers thinks he has to defend all men who watch strippers; and every Democrat who voted for Bill Clinton feels the need to defend duplicity, adultery, lying about adultery, sexual harassment, rape, perjury, obstruction of justice, kicking the can of global Islamo-fascism down the road for eight years and so on.

This is crazy. (I can say that because I've never been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. Although I did test positive for "Olympic fever" once.)

In no area except morality would a sane person believe he can't criticize something stupid because he's done it. How about: If you've ever forgotten to fill up your car and run out of gas, you must forevermore defend a person's right to ignore the gas gauge. Or if you've ever forgotten to wear a coat in cold weather and caught a cold, henceforth you are obliged to encourage others not to dress appropriately in the winter.

This deep-seated societal fear of being accused of "hypocrisy" applies only to behavior touching on morals.

Intermission

Blue Ball Machine

I have no clue as to the usefullness of that page.

Brainiac

'Watch This!" Man Injured In Waterfall Jump

A Georgia man was hospitalized after jumping from the side of Alabama's DeSoto Falls and plunging 150 feet before hitting the water.

Something Fishy

Another fishy missing link

The Tiktaalik is no more a missing link between sea life and land life than a Tic Tac is a missing link between a Lifesaver and an Altoid.

Mob Rule

Amnesty for U.S. citizens!

Mark my words: If you don't stand up to be counted today, your birthright as a U.S. citizen will be rendered meaningless. The rule of law will be a thing of the past. The will of the people will mean only mob rule.

Pigs In Space

A C-5 cargo plane crashed near Dover AFB today but it's hard to find information. I just saw something on Fox News about it, everyone survived. That's good news.

I used to work on those planes while in the Air Force and they are huge. It's quite a climb to get to the cockpit. There is also a passenger section above the cargo hold but you have to climb down from the cockpit, make your way around the cargo and climb up again to get to it. When taking off and landing they look like they are just hanging there, hardly moving.

At Least He Wasn't On A Cell Phone

Traffic tip of the week: Don't drive with a pet snake around your neck

I sense a new law in the works.

China Driving Test

Take test here

I like #11.

Man's Best Friend

Joseph Farah writes about his dog, Bosco, who died this week.

That About Covers Everything

Mr. Moussaoui said there were times when a Muslim can lie without being immoral: to reconcile Muslims, to answer "yes" when a wife asks, "Am I beautiful?" and to carry out jihad.

So ... always assume a lie.

Charges Dismissed

It looks like Abdul Rahman has had the charges dismissed against him and is seeking asylum. I hope he gets it soon:

Earlier Monday, hundreds of clerics, students and others chanting "Death to Christian!" marched through the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to protest the court's decision to toss out the case.

Several Muslim clerics have threatened to incite Afghans to kill Rahman if he is freed, saying that he is clearly guilty of apostasy and deserves to die.

Meanwhile, 2 more Afghan Christians reportedly thrown into jail

Religion of Peace Death Strikes Again

Michelle Malkin (and not a few others) want to know Who Will Save Abdul Rahman?

Abdul Rahman is a man of faith. "I believe in the Holy Spirit. I believe in Christ. And I am a Christian," he declared this week.

Unfortunately for Rahman, he was originally born a Muslim in Afghanistan -- and he has been forced to defend his religious conversion in his home country's court, where he now faces the death penalty for turning to Jesus.

Rahman's family has denounced him as mentally ill. Afghan officials are thirsting for his blood. "We will cut him into little pieces," jail employee Hosnia Wafayosofi told the Chicago Tribune, as she "made a cutting motion with her hands."

This is beyond outrageous. What will it take for the world to see Islam for what it is?

It's funny, they claim the God of the Bible (God is love; vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Eternal, etc.) is Allah and Jesus was a prophet, yet they hate with vitriolic hatred Jews and Christians. They take vengeance into their own hands for Allah as a often as thay can. They believe almost the exact opposite of what is said about God in the Bible. It's as if they believe the God that "so loved the world" decided one day, "screw it, you know what, I really hate these people, I take back everything I said, I scrapping the whole plan I've had from the beginning. From now on I'm going to raise up a new prophet (and disown my own Son) and wipe out anyone who believed what I said before.

Sorry, no.

Puppykat?

A new breed of cat has been developed - "the puppykat craves the attention of humans and is much more playful."

But will it fetch a stick?

A Breath Away?

Speaking of the Middle East: Peace just a breath away, says Sharon Stone

Peace often seems just a breath away, that's one of our eternal problems. We just don't know how to bridge the gap.

"It feels to me that we have an opportunity ... to choose understanding in a new way," she told a press conference in Paris when asked about her trip.

"And it really is just a breath. It's just an agreement that's just a breath. We are not far apart. We can choose to have this alternative kind of growth that is a collective nuance of understanding.

"We are just that breath away from a peaceful co-existence,"

Sounds nice, but really it's B.S. We want peace, Israel wants peace, but the other side wants death and destruction. They live for it and it's taught to them from birth. How do you reverse that? They refuse to look inside themselves and see any fault. They cannot see any problem within their little sphere of understanding. The answer is, it's beyond the ability of mankind. All the good intentions in the world cannot change that. Only God can do that and you can't even bring that up without eyes rolling.

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To preach the acceptable year of the LORD." Luke 4:18,19

What difference can God make?

In fact, everyone in the world is affected by the resurrection of Jesus. Nobody can live unchanged by that great fact. If it didn't happen, your life is going to be changed tremendously. And if it did happen, your life is going to be changed tremendously. It is, as the Bible makes clear, the central fact of history. Nothing is more important. And everything is different, depending upon whether this did or didn't happen. I'd like to think with you a little bit about this great fact, and consider with you what life would be like if Jesus did not rise, and what would life be like if he did, and what effect it would have upon you.

I Wish I Had Seen This

Flying Cow Leaves Two Police Cars in Flames

Watson told News 4 WOAI, "We believe the gate of the cattle trailer came open, and the cow, for lack of a better phrase spilled out onto the Interstate. It was pretty chaotic for a while."

Several cars hit some of the cows. One cow died. DPS troopers called for backup.

That's when one officer was nearly run down by a speeding truck, carrying two illegal immigrants inside.

Seguin Police were out looking for those illegal immigrants. They parked their cars in the hot grass, burning two of them including that brand new 2006 Crown Victoria. Watson said, "Well, all of a sudden, another officer who'd arrived on the scene, alerted the sergeant that there was a fire."

Everything inside was destroyed, including tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment designed for the patrol cars.

"You start off with kind of a bizarre accident with these cows spilling onto the interstate. That leads to other accidents, that leads to a car chase, that leads to a foot chase," Watson recalls.

Catchin' Some Rays

A lizard catching some rays in the Florida sun.

I took James to the lake today. They recently renovated the lakefront and added a nice playground and water play area for the kids. Here's James getting splashed.

Sidewalk Artist

Believe it or not, that is a drawing done in chalk on the sidewalk. Check out more of his work here.

Ray C. Stedman

Although he died in 1992, I just recently discovered Ray C. Stedman and an online library in his honor from which you can download or print out many excellent sermons.

This web site gathers together in one place the entire Ray C. Stedman Library originated in 1995 at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California where Ray Stedman was pastor for 40 years. We offer fast download of printed and audio files, free of charge for educational purposes-- according to the copyright notice at the end of each message. We have added Ray's in-print and out-of-print books to this web site.

I highly recommend this site - A pearl of great price.

They are not intended merely to entertain us, or even to instruct us, but to change us, to set us free, to make us live, to turn us from weakness and emptiness and barrenness and fruitlessness, unto truth and life and joy and warmth and power. -- Ray C. Stedman

Little Slum Inn

How's this for creative marketing.

Rio's slums, or favelas, are infamous for drug and gang violence. But a new hostel called "The Little Slum Inn" is attracting adventurous tourists, mainly from Germany, France and the United States, who dare to live amid the grit and poverty.

Incredible. Bring the kids. Anyway, good luck to them, it seems to be helping the neigborhood get along. Can't fault that. They're using their heads.

Europe Endless?

Islamists are stifling debate in what was Europe's freest country, says Douglas Murray in We should fear Holland's silence

Holland - with its disproportionately high Muslim population - is the canary in the mine. Its once open society is closing, and Europe is closing slowly behind it. It looks, from Holland, like the twilight of liberalism - not the "liberalism" that is actually libertarianism, but the liberalism that is freedom. Not least freedom of expression.

All across Europe, debate on Islam is being stopped. Italy’s greatest living writer, Oriana Fallaci, soon comes up for trial in her home country, and in Britain the government seems intent on pushing through laws that would make truths about Islam and the conduct of its followers impossible to voice.

I can't help wondering how long this can go on. How long can Europeans take this?

Europe is shuffling into darkness. It is proving incapable of standing up to its enemies, and in an effort to accommodate the peripheral rights of a minority is failing to protect the most basic rights of its own people.

The governments of Europe have been tricked into believing that criticism of a belief is the same thing as criticism of a race. And so it is becoming increasingly difficult and dangerous to criticise a growing and powerful ideology within our midst. It may soon, in addition, be made illegal.

Europe shuffling into darkness, allowing it's culture to be eclipsed? I think there is a backlash coming. It may take a bit more bending but Europe will push back.

Michael Burghardt

Leading the fight is Gunnery Sgt Michael Burghardt, known as "Iron Mike" or just "Gunny". He is on his third tour in Iraq. He had become a legend in the bomb disposal world after winning the Bronze Star for disabling 64 IEDs and destroying 1,548 pieces of ordnance during his second tour. Then, on September 19, he got blown up.

Read about this amazing story here. Verified by Snopes.

Dead Drunk

When I got to work last night security had just noticed a guy bending over the second floor railing, almost going over. He was so drunk he didn't know where he was or where he belonged. I walked back to see if I recognized him. I didn't. They had him sitting in a chair and he was passed out. Just around the corner was a 12 pack of Corona and we were standing right there talking. We had called the police and when they arrived they ran his I.D. and somehow found out he was staying at a different hotel, he was lost. They ran him off and left. Security went around the corner to get the beer and it was gone. Someone stole it while the police were there.

Happy Birthday!

James is six today. Don't mess with him.

I remember when he was born so clearly. It's hard to believe it's been six years. Six wonderful years.

I'm In The Money!

James had his birthday party Sunday and one of his aunts gave him $30 in ones. Does he look happy?

Incredible!

This is some pretty incredible juggling by Chris Bliss, click on "Watch" to see it.

He Dropped The Knife, Didn't He?

Man set on fire as Taser hits lighter

"Taser! Taser!" Cassidy shouted as she sent a two-pronged wire, packing 50,000 volts, at Crouch's chest. What happened next stunned everyone.

A Taser probe pierced the pocket of his khaki shirt -- and ignited the butane lighter inside. Crouch's pocket exploded in flames.

"The subject," recounted Sgt. Al Tolley in a subsequent report, "immediately dropped the knife."

Apparently, he was unharmed.

Crouch didn't seem too concerned about his run-in with police and clearly had other priorities Tuesday night.

"You're burning my minutes," he said about his cell phone. "It's not 9 o'clock yet."

It's funny how selective memory can be sometimes.

"Why did they get into my house?" he asked of police. "I didn't invite them into my house. They came into my bedroom and shot me with the Taser, and it [the lighter] exploded."

Because we all know this nation has a real problem with police officers randomly entering homes and tasering people for fun.

The Blob

Mystery blob eating downtown

Downtown Los Angeles that is.

"We were called back because there was a gooey substance, a tarry-type substance, coming out the underground electrical vaults, out of manhole covers in the street, through the sidewalks and possibly in one older apartment building," Myers said.

A 120-foot stretch of Olive buckled 1 1/2 feet, he said. The pre-1933 unreinforced masonry apartment building shifted one foot from its foundation. Sidewalks were as hot as Jacuzzis.

And a pressurized liquid shot from every street orifice located above what used to be a historic oil field downtown.

That's got to be one of the coolest stories I've heard in a while. No one has been hurt except for some property damage. Where are the TV news cameras when you need them? I want to see it.

Surrendered?

From the desk of Ed Koch: The Free Press Has Surrendered to Islamic Fanatics

Bennett's most important comment was, "I promise you, they have won. They have silenced -- these -- these mobs have silenced the mainstream media, who are afraid of the mob." Later on in the discussion, Bennett stated, "One of the difficulties with the cartoons is, they hit pretty close to the bone...Is there no suggestion that, in the name of Islam, in the name of the Koran, in the name of Allah, people are having their heads cut off? These things hit their target."

To me, that is the crux of the matter. There is a war of civilizations being waged in the world with the Islamic fanatics subliminally seeking to storm once again the gates of Vienna, where, in 1683, they were defeated. If by threats of terror against them, the great media institutions can be brought to their knees, we are in big trouble. Before this occurred, I had no doubt that, no matter how difficult, no matter how long the war we are now engaged in continues, the democracies of the world would win, as they did when first facing Hitler and later Stalin. Today, I am no longer so certain.

I think the bottom line is this; too many of us just don't believe Islamists will/can carry out what they so clearly want. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away. We must deal with this head on - no quarter given. Every time we retreat (even when we think we're just being gracious or sensitive), they advance. It strengthens them, it emboldens them. They view it as weakness, and like a predator they attack the weak.

They need us to defeat them, it is in their best interest. It is in the best interest of the world. During WWII the Germans and the Japanese were of the same spirit. They needed that strong hand to put them down, too, and knock that spirit out of them. It took a while, but we finally recognized that and did what it took. Yeah, it hurt, but you do what you have to do, and the world was better place because of it. It doesn't last forever though and that spirit has raised up another problem to deal with. Now is the time to put it down. The stakes are too high now to wait.

Today there are new ostriches in our land. They refuse to take terrorists at their word. The Times reported on February 4th the comments of a cleric at the Al-Omari mosque in Gaza, "We will not accept less than severing the heads of those responsible." Regrettably, many Westerners don't take Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden's principal deputy, at his word when he said, "Killing the infidels is our religion, slaughtering them is our religion, until they convert to Islam or pay us tribute."

Resistance is Futile

The Borg are still at it and Michael Burkert has a commentary that sheds some light on it: Cartoon Wars

So, a big storm is in progress over Europe. It's all about cartoons. Or is it? What we are seeing more and more on a daily basis is the rise of Islam, not only in Europe, but also in our country and Canada as well. I've written time and again about unlimited immigration from the Middle East, swarming into an unsuspecting Europe, but this tragically is happening in North America as well. The results of this ill-advised process is a soon to arrive clash of cultures on a catastrophic scale.

Apologizing for "offending Islam" is not enough for the Muslim masses of Europe. They want blood! They literally want the heads of the cartoonists and the laws of Europe changed to meet their demands. The masses of Muslim immigrants living in Europe today did not come here to assimilate. They have no intention of becoming Germans, Frenchmen, Dutchmen or Danes. They come not to assimilate, they come to DOMINATE.

But, that's not all.

The Islamics are fanatical about Jerusalem. They are dedicated to the destruction of every Jewish man, woman and child. A united Muslim world, under the command of a Caliph could facilitate such a military and political reality in the never-ending lust to destroy the tiny nation of Israel. Everything else is a sideshow.

DingBat

Gore Laments U.S. 'Abuses' Against Arabs

The American people should get down on their knees and thank God Al Gore did not become President of the United States. He goes to an enemy country (I know Saudi Arabia is technically our ally but there is a huge enemy element within that country) and badmouths America and the President. Abuses against Arabs? Al Gore is insane with envy for President Bush.

Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."

He and his ilk need to be hung for treason. They don't get their way so they try to burn down the house. Yes, hung. We are in a war and this behavior cannot be tolerated, too much is at stake. They are not just stepping across the line at this point, they have trampled it so much they have no idea where it is anymore.

Maddening

A company from the United Arab Emirates may be taking over operations at six American ports - New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

Are we insane? Why you would want a company from any other country to be in such a position is beyond me, but the United Arab Emirates? Why not Saudi Arabia? They're our "allies" too.

Why not put China in charge of the Panama Canal. Oops, it already is.

Ford Mega-Pickup

The past week I noticed two of these Ford F-650's driving around, a red one and a yellow one. They are huge and very sharp. I'd never seen them before and they didn't seem to be work trucks at all - just "I'm badder than you" trucks. I found them on the web here. They even have an X-treme Utility Vehicle down near the bottom of the first page and a six-door pickup around the middle. Truly incredible. They claim better gas mileage than I thought - 13 mpg. I wonder what they'll come up with next?

Red Light Cameras

Camera At Orlando Intersection Catches 2,700 Red Light Runners

Since mid-November, a camera at the corner of Hiawassee Road and Raleigh Street in Orlando has caught 2,700 people running the red light.

My question is: When exactly does it count as running a red light? What if it turns red as you exit the intersection? Or are halfway through it? What if you're in the intersection waiting to make a left (not for New Jersey drivers, where 3 rights = 1 left) and you can't get through until it turns red for oncoming traffic?

Human beings where not meant to be monitored and controlled by computers. It just doesn't work. There are too many variables in real human life that a computer just can't factor in. Just knowing you're being watched so closely causes too much stress for people. I'm not saying running red lights is OK but I think the authorities see dollar signs and can't see around them to reality.

I live in a town that is very heavy on police speeding enforcement. Very heavy. I can't tell you how many times I almost panic at the sight of a police car, immediately checking my speed (9 times out of 10 I'm not speeding anyway, the other time it's less than 5 over) and I end up driving down the main road constantly checking the speed. When I get out of town driving is so much more relaxing, I don't really worry about it that much. And I don't drive any faster out of town. The only difference is worrying about getting a ticket. And a side effect of this is that you never want to see a cop. They become "the enemy," even though you're not doing anything wrong.

Previously Unknown "Lost World" Found

The scientists are the first outsiders to see it. They could only reach the remote mountainous area by helicopter, which they described it as akin to finding a "Garden of Eden".

Scientists hail discovery of hundreds of new species in remote New Guinea

They believe no man has ever set foot in this remote area and they aim to change that.

There were so many new things it was almost overwhelming. And we have only scratched the surface of what is there." The scientists hope to return this year.

Keep scratching. No doubt scientists will soon lay claim to being the only protecters of the area as well. Can't have global warming killing off all the new species before they've catalogued them.

Grandpa Munster

Al Lewis dies at 95. I always liked "The Munsters." I loved Fred Gwynn as Herman and Al Lewis was great in that show. How long before a Hollywood remake of that show? I have a hard time believing they could pull it off. How do you replace Fred Gwynn and Al Lewis?

Despicable

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond - you're despicable! How dare you say these things. You're not doing anything to advance the lives of anyone, let alone those who your organization claims to advance. In fact, by saying these things you are hurting all Americans. You're shameful.

Civil rights activist and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond delivered a blistering partisan speech at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina last night, equating the Republican Party with the Nazi Party and characterizing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, as "tokens."

"The Republican Party would have the American flag and the swastika flying side by side," he charged.

Bizzaro World

What has education come to? I think they just want to see how far they can go and get away with it. British school bans raising hands

To spare embarrassment of the students who do not know the answer, the school has incorporated a "phone a friend" system, allowing one child to nominate another to take the question instead.

You can't raise you hand if you know the answer and if you don't know you can have someone else answer for you. I guess they got that idea from "Who Wants to be a Millonaire?" Can they nominate someone to take a test for them too?

This Surprises You?

Google Holds Copies of All Emails and All Websites Visited

Some commentators are describing Google, the world's most used internet search engine, as "scary," after learning that the internet giant stores web search history and e-mails.

When you surf the web you have to be aware that every site you visit and every search you make is logged somewhere. Your ISP keeps records, the search engines keep records, individual sites keep records of who's coming from where, what they are looking at and for how long, and where they are going. You can be sure I missed something, too. Nothing is secret on the internet. For most people, most of the time, nobody cares what you are doing and they are not really keeping track of you personally, but you can be sure that if they need to know - they can.

Welcome to Florida

With all the dangerous animals there are in Florida, not to mention hurricanes, lightning and pedophiles, you have to wonder why so many people move here. Well, now we can add another one to the list - Killer Bees. Great, just great.

Tap This

I don't think I ever linked to Pat Boone before but I like his commentary on wire tapping.

The liberal media and all the usual sympathizers like the ACLU and a number of legal and pseudo-legal organizations are howling about our government - and our president - utilizing perfectly legal and imminently advisable efforts to apprehend and defuse ongoing efforts to wreak ever more ghastly havoc on this country. They are exactly the very ones who, in the likely event of another 9-11, no matter what we do to prevent it, will be screaming at the government: "How could you let this happen? Why didn't you do something to stop these devils?"

Well, thank God, our government is doing something, a lot of right somethings.

Cutest Site On The Internet?

You decide. Cute Overload!

Nightmare Neighbor

No, not mine, but this guy has got to be one of the worst.

One interesting point.

Lily Luk, another neighbor, said she sometimes calls police four times a night but that Bertone simply refuses to answer the door when officers come knocking.

Apparently, in San Fransisco, if your neighbors call the police because you're playing loud music outside in the middle of the night, all you have to do is not answer the door and they will go away. Really?

Al-Qaeda - Democrats

Same message. Neal Boortz compares.

So does Kevin McCullough.

Can we all at least agree that on the very surface it appears that the left in this nation have once and for all been exposed for being the terrorist cheerleaders that they have always been?

Negotiations

Neal Boortz has a slideshow depicting the Taiwanese negotiation process.

This is the process the world should use with Iran. Unfortunately, it seems as though it will go the other way. They will talk and complain and protest and threaten and talk some more - all the while Iran will work toward their goal - until they get their nukes, then we'll blame President Bush for not doing enough.

Accident Update

I was wrong about where the car hit. It hit on the left side of the canopy but somehow got turned around facing the right side. The soda machine you see in the picture was standing behind the wall where the hole is and was thrown down and landed in front of the paper box. There are 12 pictures here, including pictures of the car. Click on the picture at that website to see more. Police estimated the car was traveling around 120 mph. That's an insane speed on SR535.

It happened again, another car raced through the light on 192 and slammed into this motel. It hit the column to the right and twisted sideways under the canopy. Not much left, he must have been flying.

I actually heard it happen. I was watching TV and heard the brakes screeching and a low thud, almost too low to hear. I ran out but didn't see anything and there were cars driving by as if nothing happened. I thought maybe it was just a close call. A little while later I heard the sirens and knew exactly what happened. I think this is 3 times since I've been here, maybe 4. I'm surprised the canopy is still there after all these accidents. The cars are always destoyed and I've never seen anyone walk away - not tonight either. Here comes the helicopter again.

This hawk was sitting on our back fence this morning. I've seen him hanging around lately but this is one of the few times he has been out in the open.

It's Hard Not To Believe This Anymore

In the history of the nation, there has never been a political party so ridiculous as today's Democrats. It's as if all the brain-damaged people in America got together and formed a voting bloc.

They have no clue where the line is and have been crossing it liberally. And now after watching what's been going on in the Alito confirmation hearings, you couldn't get me to vote Democratic for anything - no way, no how. Don't get me wrong, I don't much like the way Republicans have been handling some things either, but at least there is a slight glimmer of hope. The Democrats are in the heart of darkness.

Some don't like the way Ann Coulter speaks her mind but she's got it right in this commentary.

I'm Surprised ...

I'm surprised we don't have more hostage standoffs around here. Now we've had two standoffs in two days. Mostly the criminals get away without being caught. I don't even see yesterday's standoff on the website. Can't let the tourists think there's crime around here, I guess.

I Don't Know But ...

I think Chevrolet would be better off if they had the new Camaro ready to roll for consumers instead of showing it off as a concept car.

Rodent Revenge

Mouse takes down house

"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," he said.

Don't do that.

Troubles Me Deeply

In the first day of weeklong confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., told Judge Samuel Alito to expect tough questioning, saying the record of the U.S. Supreme Court nominee "troubles me deeply."

What troubles me deeply is how the people of Massachusetts keep electing a drunk to represent them in the Senate.

Otis for President!

Get Ready

The most dysfunctional group of people outside of a mental institution are ready to rule the world.

Ahmadinejad, who has drawn global attention recently for his contention the Holocaust was a "myth," said: "We don't shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world."

"They're ready, they're ready, they're ready, edy, edy!" ... Spongebob.

"Anything you want, just don't hurt us." ... a liberal.

"One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half." ... Sir Winston Churchill

Opportunity For Change

Michael Ledeen says his sources in Iran tell him Osama Bin Laden died mid-December of kidney failure. I haven't heard that anywhere else and who knows if it's true, but his commentary - One Moment in Time is worth reading.

In short, both demography and geopolitics make this an age of revolution, as President Bush seems to have understood. Rarely have there been so many opportunities for the advance of freedom, and rarely have the hard facts of life and death been so favorable to the spread of democratic revolution.

Unity

Tony Blankley makes the case for American unity in this comentary: Let's organize to end war disunity

There may be no more agonizing weakness for a nation than major internal division during a time of war, because, unlike the conduct of foreign nations or forces, a lack of internal unity is exclusively our own collective fault.

Particularly for a country as powerful and robustly provisioned as America, it is also the weakness that leads to all other weaknesses. If we had national unity, we could quickly make up for any current military manpower shortages (after Pearl Harbor, young American men rushed to sign up, and the draft was overwhelmingly seen as a needed part of our national defense). If we had national unity, we would not have a prominent national leader and Marine veteran such as Rep. John Murtha advising our young men and women not to join the military.

I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham

This is a fascinating site: A Catalog of Political Cartoons by Dr. Suess

I had no clue he was a political cartoonist. Change the names on some of them and they are just as meaningful today. Some samples below.

Still plenty of morale killers today.

Nothing changes

The religion of peace.

This one is my favorite. Plenty more where they came from.

2006 Already?

I really can't believe it's a new year already. 2005 flew by. It hasn't started very well though - Fires in Oklahoma/Texas, floods in California, 12 miners dead, scandal in Washington, Ariel Sharon suffers a stroke and is basically out of commission leaving Israel in turmoil, bird flu on the move. I'm not going to dwell on all the bad news. There is good news beyond the bad.

The kids are back in school, the weather has been beautiful, it's nice to just sit on the porch and watch the kids play and the turkeys wander about. And we've been cleaning out the garage and that feels good.

So let's see what happens this year and don't forget to stop and smell the roses once in a while.

James found this snake in a crevice in a tree. It's a baby corn snake. I saw a shed snake skin in the tree a few days ago and it must have been from the same snake.

James and his new Godzilla posters.

The Best Thank You

James is a typical 5 year old when it comes to when it comes to complaining about not getting enough stuff. "You never buy me anything!" is his typical saying.

Today we had a special moment though. I was in his room admiring his new Godzilla posters with him and he said, "You do buy me a lot of things Daddy, and sometimes I forget to say Thank You."

Thank you James, it's nice to know you really notice.

Just a Weird Observation

Saturday night at work I got a lot of people coming in with bent drivers licenses, so many that I started thinking how weird it was to be getting so many in one night.

Sunday night I didn't get any bent ones but I did get a rash of cracked drivers licences. One after another.

Weird.

Hooray For Hollywood!

Here's a list of 40 things that only happen in movies. Some good, some not so. I watched a number 34 last night.

OK, here it is! I finally got a picture of this deer at night. Christmas is more like Halloween these days.

Abby Normal

I like Ann Coulter's latest column: Live and let spy

It's one or the other: Either we take the politically correct, scattershot approach and violate everyone's civil liberties, or we focus on the group threatening us and - in the worst-case scenario - run the risk of briefly violating the civil liberties of 1,000 people in a country of 300 million.

Of course, this is assuming I'm talking to people from the world of the normal. In the Democrats' world, there are two more options. Violate no one's civil liberties and get used to a lot more 9-11s, or the modified third option, preferred by Sen. John D. Rockefeller: Let the president do all the work and take all the heat for preventing another terrorist attack while you place a letter expressing your objections in a file cabinet as a small parchment tribute to your exquisite conscience.

We need to do some unpleasant things and make some very difficult decisions to preserve this country and weed out and eliminate the anti-American Rousseau-think the left has so stubbornly embraced.

Yes, anti-American.

I should have particularly avoided, as necessarily ill-governed, a Republic in which the people, imagining themselves in a position to do without magistrates, or at least to leave them with only a precarious authority, should imprudently have kept for themselves the administration of civil affairs and the execution of their own laws.

So says the brilliant Rousseau.

Rousseau's ideas about education have profoundly influenced modern educational theory. He minimizes the importance of book learning, and recommends that a child's emotions should be educated before his reason.

It is amazing how much of his nonsensical thinking has infiltrated our society. It is tearing apart and destroying this great country from within and allowing our enemies (and we do and will have enemies no matter what we do) to gain the upper hand against us.

So, accolades to Ann Coulter for standing up for sound thinking.

I've Got Oranges

I forget how long ago I planted this tree but this year I finally have oranges. It's been a few years. They sure look good.

Still Trying

Since I posted the photo of my neighbors deer she has not turned her lights on. I wonder if she reads this? No, I doubt it. But please turn on your Christmas lights if you do.

Our neighbor across the street has the same deer out front but it is standing normally. His lights haven't been on either. They both turn on the lights every night when I don't care but the minute I want a picture ...

Leaf Blower

James helped me clean up after I cut some branches that hung a bit too low over the driveway. He was playing outside while I cut the trees and when I finished he came over and started helping me clean up the branches and I let him blow the sawdust off the driveway when we finished. What I like most is that I didn't even ask for his help.

This Is Where The Left Is Going

Candidate to supporters: 'Islam won!'

"This is a victory for Islam! Islam won! Islam won! ... Islamic power is extending into Canadian politics," Omar Alghabra, the Liberal candidate for Mississauga-Erindale, reportedly declared to his audience of several hundred.

The Bible is almost outlawed in Canada but Islam is just OK with them - even in the government.

And we're going to follow along right behind if the left in this country have their way. In a bill "Expressing the commitment of the House of Representatives to achieving victory in Iraq," 108 Democrats and 1 Independant voted against victory! How sad!

This Glass Snake stopped by for a visit the other day. He stuck around for a few pictures and moved on. Although it looks like a snake, it is actually a lizard.

Why I Love My Neighbors

I noticed recently my neighbor had some Christmas lights in her backyard. I couldn't make out what it was supposed to be - it was a large white blob hanging from a tree with a red circular spot on the ground under it. This morning I took this picture (a bit grainy because of the distance) and I see it is a deer hanging from the tree by it's hind legs. The best I can figure is the red spot is supposed to be blood. What an interesting Christmas decoration! I will try to get a picture at night.

This Was A Secret?

Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11

Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said.

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought that was part of the homeland security laws put into effect after 911. In fact, I remember a controversy over this same thing. I guess it's an attempt by the press to get the country hating President Bush again.

New Book On The Way

A new book by Ronald L. Dart is being published and is available at prepublication prices in paperback and hardback.

It is called "The Lonely God"

"The Bible doesn't contradict itself, but it often runs sharply counter to what we expect. The truth is often presented to us in the form of a paradox. Part of the problem lies in the limitations of the human mind. The very idea of God exceeds our grasp. Traditional views hold that God Himself is the only uncreated entity that is. Everything and everyone else was created by Him. But then that means that before God created the things that are, He was alone.

How is it possible that an infinite God should ever find himself lonely or wanting anything. What in the world was He doing when He created this world and put man on it? What is the purpose for mankind? Is it possible to understand God? Yes, but only on His own terms, and only by His own revelation. When we try to go beyond what He shows Himself to be, we risk creating God in our own image. But God has not left us in the dark.

The Lonely God is about understanding and knowing God as He wishes to be known, not necessarily as we wish to know Him. The picture that emerges is disturbing. God is not only kind, merciful, forgiving, and longsuffering. He is dangerous. This is why the Bible speaks of the fear of God. This insightful, instructive, and provocative book, The Lonely God, will change the way you think about God. Order this book today and save with this special prepublication offer."

It's a well written, clear, thought provoking book. I highly recommend it.

Bad Movie

I just watched the Dukes of Hazard movie. It was terrible, I'm sure glad I didn't pay to see it. Bad jokes, bad acting, bad writing - and the Dukes are on the wrong side of the law even if the cops in the movie weren't dirty. What's the difference between the Dukes and drug dealers? I don't know. They just didn't do this movie right. Some of the old Burt Reynolds movies had him doing the same but he still had some redeeming qualities, a reason to like him. I couldn't find a reason to like the Dukes in this movie.

Crowds

I stopped at Walmart this afternoon to pick up a few things and the lines were crazy. I just wanted a few food items, I wasn't Christmas shopping. They need to have a line or 2 for people who are not Christmas shopping. Where do all these people come from anyway? Where are they all year long? I went to Publix instead - no lines.

Something I noticed though. I hadn't thought about it before, I don't really care, but seeing the lines brought it to my attention.

The stores I have been to are not decorated for Christmas. I didn't see any Christmas decorations at Walmart at all, no Christmas music, no sign Christmas is near except the lines and the Salvation Army guy out front (and they have eggnog). I don't think he had a bell either, don't they usually have a bell? They don't even have all that many toys out. In the past they have actually moved a whole section of the store to make room for more toys and closed the garden center to turn it into a Christmas center.

Maybe the malls are decorated - I'll never know.

Catching Up

James was riding his bike Sunday while I was working on my car. He told me to watch him do a trick, so I did. He rode on the grass, up the hill, he started slowing down and he fell. As he was on the ground, still tangled in the bike, he turned toward me and said, "That's not it!" I started cracking up, it was so funny. I wish I had a video camera, it was perfect.

My car (Pontiac) is not perfect. The electrical system self destructed. I replaced a fusible link last week. It was running fine but after a few days I went to get something out of the car and noticed the interior light didn't work. I checked and none of the lights worked - at all. I've been looking for a car so I wasn't very interested in fixing it.

Then the other car (Cadillac) started acting up, almost the same thing - no lights. The problem was intermittent, it wasn't a fuse. But if I don't have lights I can't go to work and I needed to fix this one. I just went through the wiring, taking out and cleaning the fuses and grounds, checking the connections and finally fixed it. The problem was in some mega fuses that were hidden under a panel in the engine compartment. They were just corroded, I cleaned them up and haven't had the problem since.

Sunday I fixed the Pontiac. It was another fusible link, a different one, and a real pain to get to. I still don't trust that it won't happen again because I'm thinking there was a reason why they blew in the first place. I won't drive it except locally and I have AAA so I can get a free tow home.

I've been looking hard for another car. I found one I liked and it was priced right but when I went to buy it, they were closed (Friday, after Thanksgiving), Saturday I couldn't go, Sunday they are closed and Monday morning bright and early the car was gone. They sold it Saturday. I was very disappointed. I believe there was a reason it didn't work out though, it was an incredible deal and like they say, you don't get something for nothing.

I have my eye on another, a 2002 Chevy Impala, but I'm not ready to buy it yet. It costs more than the other but it's in near perfect shape - almost a little too perfect. It checks out on Carfax and I have gone over it carefully - it's on a raised platform and you can go under the car - look for signs of flooding or some sign of wear beyond the rest of the car but it looks good.

We'll see, if it's there when I'm ready I just might. I can't find anything else close in the price range I need. The Impala is on the upper limits of my price range. I'm keeping my eyes open.

Assassin's Mace

This is an interesting commentary by Lev Navrozov which gives a brief history of the development of nuclear weapons.

How Easily Hitler Could Have Subjugated the World

Will It Work?

Andres Kello is trying to break the world record for most expensive internet domain name.

Crash!

Here's something you don't see everyday: Ouch!

Yesterday ...

... did not feel like Thanksgiving Day to me. We went to the inlaws and had dinner and all, I don't know why, it just didn't feel like thanksgiving.

I wanted to get a siphon to take the gas out of my car - because I want to trade it in and don't want to give them a full tank - but of course it works out I want to do it on Thanksgiving Day. I couldn't find one. More on this later, I don't want to say anything unless I can make this deal. If it works out I will be very happy with it, if not, it's back to car shopping. I just want it over with. I hate the car buying process.

We Can Rebuild It

Irma got used to using my laptop and started asking me to fix the Mac laptop (Powerbook Titanium) so she could use it while I was at work. The Mac crashed big time - the modem stopped working, the CD/DVD player broke, one of the memory cards went bad, and the hard drive started dying and I lost all the photos on it (had copies on the other computer). This all happened at the same time. Needless to say I was less than impressed with it, especially when I saw the cost of fixing it.

I bought my Gateway laptop, which I have been very happy with, and left the Mac in the closet for a while. When Irma asked me about it I searched out the parts on the internet and the prices have come down. I could actually fix it for a reasonable price. I ordered the hard drive, super drive (CD/DVD burner), and modem and replaced them all in about an hour. I also upgraded the operating system to OS X Tiger and the computer never worked better. I didn't get a memory card because it still has 512 megs but I still may get another to double it again.

I bought the hard drive, superdrive and OS X from Other World Computing and I am very happy with their service and products.

Now, the only thing I don't like about it is the WiFi is not very sensitive and I can pick up a signal on the Gateway while the Mac says there is no signal. It works if the signal is not weak but it should be better.

Indiana Kitty

Cat Survives Traffic, 70-Foot Fall From Bridge, 600-Foot Swim

The cat is resting up at an animal shelter in Washington state after leaping from a pickup, scampering through traffic, plunging 70 feet into the chilly Columbia River and swimming 600 feet to shore.

And now, for her next trick ...

Put It On eBay

1 Square Inch of Land for Sale at $1,500

You have to read this for the explanation. It's incredible that someone legally owned a plot of land that small.

Liberty

Liberty has consequences. Man wants freedom, and at the same time he wants to be free from the consequences of his actions. These two wants simply cannot be reconciled.

It is only recently that I have begun to truly understand what freedom is all about, what it costs, why people are so willing to lay it down and what it takes to get it back.

Man is conflicted about freedom. Freedom is good, but we will lay it down in a heartbeat once it becomes too heavy to bear. We are tempted to lay our freedom down if someone offers us food, shelter and clothing. People have actually accepted slavery in order to fill their empty bellies and to get a kind of security from those who would do them harm. History is full of stories like this.

Sounds a little too familiar.

They want to be taken care of, they want to lay their freedom down, they want to be slaves. They want to be servants because then, someone else can take care of them.

We are all like this to a certain extent, we all have our own tolerance level of freedom.

The quotes are from this essay by Ronald L. Dart. I've been following his evolving understanding of freedom and how to get out of the bondage we all get ourselves into. This is a must read.

If You Have a Secret ...

don't tell James. Yesterday was Irma's birthday and we got her a gliding exercise machine (cause that's what she wanted me to get her), along with flowers, cards and ice cream cake. We put the glider together in the living room and James decided he loved it so much, it should be his.

Well, we blew up some balloons and Joshua made balloon animals out of them (he is surprisingly good at it) and we put them on the machine for when she got home. I told James he couldn't ride on it anymore until Mommy got home. Irma called and James told her we opened her present and put it together. I grabbed the phone away from him and she didn't understand what he said anyway. I was going to tell her he meant the coffee maker her Mom got her.

When she came home James ran outside and told her that he wasn't allowed to ride her glider because there were a bunch of balloons on it, and on and on. She was cracking up.

He got to ride it again and Irma asked if she was ever going to get to use it. Maybe not.

Change of Plans

I was going to paint the porch last Sunday but had to put it off after I got in my car Saturday night to go to work, turned the key and heard a small bang, saw a flash of light, the car died and a burning smell permeated the air. What now?, I thought.

Upon investigation Sunday morning, it turns out the insulation pulled back on some wires attached to the starter and they shorted out - how, I don't know. How long had the insulation been pulled back and how did it manage to short out then? I thank God it happened in my driveway and not somewhere else.

I fixed it and the starter was still good. Still, I'm starting to get that itch for a new car.

Paristinians

Joseph Farrah has the solution for France in French solution: Paristinian state

James found this turtle outside the other day. He was so excited! He didn't want it to leave.

New Pictures!

I uploaded a photo album of our trip to Ft. Walton Beach and the Feast of Tabernacles. Click here or the Photos link on the left.

I Guess He Was Ready

Today, after I picked up the kids from school, I went out to work on my car. James wanted to ride his bike. OK, no problem. I went inside to get something and James had taken a wrench from my toolbox and started taking off his training wheels. I watched, curiously. He got them off no problem, got on his bike and, after a couple of false starts, started riding down the driveway!

I was amazed! He had previously shown no interest in taking off the training wheels. In fact, I did try to do it a while back and he resisted. He rode a few times with me holding the bike and walking with him and he even could ride (barely) if I let go but couldn't turn or stop. He asked me to put the training wheels back on. That was months ago, at least. Way to go James!