Changing Times

Last weekend the wife and I took the Young'un down to Fort Boonesboro for a day trip. On the ride down we decided to take a few back roads, and stay off the expressway if we could.

It was a beautiful ride through North Central Kentucky. Two lane blacktop road through fields and farms,  dotted with farmhouses and barns, both old and new, and the occasional house trailer surrounded by a jacked up car or two.

The one thing I did not see was a tobacco field. I saw cattle pastures and corn fields, hay fields and soybeans.

But not a single stalk of tobacco.

It was rather sad. Tobacco used to put a lot of money into the Commonwealth of Kentucky; money that worked its way down through the entire economy. Local Merchant charge accounts and bank loans were payable "when the tobacco sold'. Many a youngster bought his first car with tobacco money, money earned by planting; hoeing; cutting, housing and stripping tobacco. At first for pay, and later by renting a tobacco base and being responsible for the crop himself, and the business of hiring workers, paying the expense of seed. fertilizer and fuel, and being responsible for profit or loss of the crop. A lot of responsibility when you are 17-18 years old.

And another loss for today's youth.

There are probably similar opportunities today in the agricultural world, but I haven't been involved in farming for a while, so I don't know for sure, but I doubt it. Tobacco is a very labor intensive crop, and most of the others, like corn, grains or beans, as far as cash crops go, are not. They have had entire systems developed to make the production of these crops as labor free as possible. Tobacco never did, or probably could.

One thing we did see that was new were the vineyards. I'll bet we saw 3 or 4 vineyards on the way south. This is interesting for two reasons, to me anyway.

One, this is kind of a throw back to the 1860's- '90's, when this area was a major wine producer.

Two, apparently the farmers in Kentucky have just traded the production of one vice for another.

And, if memory serves, another labor intensive one, plus one with the disadvantage of long lead times and investment before any income can be realized.

I wish them luck.

The world is changing, and I suppose we need to change with it. It just seems like to much is changing too soon.

But then my grandparents were born before the Wright Brothers flew, and saw men land on the moon.

That was some CHANGE.

And I'm worried about grapes replacing tobacco.

And I don't even farm.

Cheers to a New Beginning! again...

Late last month I decided I would try to do 31 posts in July. Yesterday I wrote a excellent post.

And then forgot to post it.

Yeah, life is like that.

Any rate, here is yesterday's post. Today's will go up later today.

I figure its a good time to pick up blogging again. Times are becoming interesting.

The election coming up will without a doubt be the most important of the last 60 years. It will determine whether we will remain a (semi) free country or descend into socialism.

I am hoping the pendulum will reverse its 70 year swing to the left and start back right again.

I am also looking at the weather for blog topics. It is the first of July, and we are August hot and dry. What will August be like? 110 degrees and NO rain?

And then the coming winter the forecast I looked at said to get ready for 77-78 again.

It's not bad enough we have the Carter economy back again, we have to put up with his weather too? And I can't wait to hear the weather wizards explain how 25 below zero and 4 feet of snow all over the Midwest is just more evidence of severe Global Warming.

Interesting times; Interesting times.

I am also looking to make this blog a sort of diary of the next 4 months. My reactions to the things that are happening on the campaign trail, both Presidential and Congressional, the economy as it 'recovers', the housing market, as it 'recovers' and anything else that catches my fancy.

I think it is safe to say that grand changes are on the way. The question is whether they will blow right or left.

Hopefully I'll still be standing when the wind stops in November.

John Roberts Did WHAT!?!?!?!

I'm not sure yet how I feel about yesterdays Supreme Court decision on Obamacare.

One side of me is adamantly, virulently opposed to the very existence of a law that controls a very personal choice. That side says the court made a horrendous mistake yesterday. And just the fact that Roberts joined the Dark Side of Kagan, Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Breyer is kind of disturbing.

But, some of the legal commentators I have been reading say that Roberts' opinion has gutted the power of the Commerce Clause. If that is true, then maybe the whole fargin' Obama Presidency has been worth it.

Barely.

The Commerce Clause is probably the most bastardized clause in the entire Constitution. Second would be the 14th Amendment, which somehow manages to have 'emanations from a penumbra'. But, I digress.

In order to get the Constitution adopted by the several states back in 1787 several of its framers wrote a series of pieces, called, collectively, The Federalist Papers, to be published in the newspapers of the day to explain the reasoning behind the various parts of the new Constitution to aid in its adoption.

One thing not made clear to a lot of folks today is the power the states had at the time. The power of the Crown did not devolve to the Continental Congress; it devolved to the various states. Each state became its own Nation, and adopting the new Constitution would cede some of that power to the new Federal Government.

The European Common Market and the Euro are a modern example, with the exception that countries did not lose their autonomy and the ability to remove themselves from the Common Market. It is solely an economic confederation. The Constitution created an economic and a political country, out of once were independent states. Four score an seven years later it was conclusively proven that the states did not have the power to secede. But again, I digress.

I have a copy of The Federalist Papers. 648 pages in paperback, including the index, notes, a copy of the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation and the Forward. This is the men who WROTE the Commerce Clause explaining what it meant. How many of the 600 pages deal with the Commerce Clause? 8.

Yep. EIGHT. The single most powerful (in modern interpretation) clause in the entire Constitution earns about 1% of the comments.

It goes back to the realities of the post- Revolutionary States. Each was a sovereign country, and each had the powers of a sovereign nation, including the authority to set tariffs and have its own Customs House. Virginia would have its own tariff on goods from Europe, as well as import restrictions on, say, corn from Maryland or North Carolina,

Obviously, if we became a single country there could not be import and export duties between the several states, and the new Federal Government would set the rules for trading with foreign partners.

Like the majority of the (original) Constitution, simple and logical. And it took 140 years for this simple, logical language to become twisted.

And yeah, a Democrat was responsible. In my opinion the second worst President in the history of the Union; Franklin Delano Roosevelt; FDR. (First is of course Obama. Third and Fourth are LBJ and JEC- James Earl Carter). During FDR's 12 years in office he managed to persuade the Supreme Court that a farmer growing grain on his own land to feed his own cattle- in which neither the cattle nor the grain crossed any state lines- had an effect on interstate commerce, and was therefore subject to Federal Regulation.

So much for the plain and simple language of the Constitution.

Well, apparently I have once again taken the long way around the barn.

So, to bring this home; if the commentators I have read are correct, and this is another Pyrrhic victory for Obama, then maybe I can live with this decision.

One blog I read this morning (which I of course found through Instapundit) Five Possible Silver linings in the Obamacare Decision also lists as a Silver Lining the idea that by keeping Obamacare alive will energize the Republican base this election season, and create the perfect climate for its total repeal in Congress.

I guess I am too multi-faceted, because there is one side of me that's wants Congress to do a total repeal. I am totally against the Courts legislating from the bench, so maybe Congress is where the death of Obamacare needs to happen.

Now all we need are the votes to make it happen come next January.

FINALLY!!!! A USEFUL iPad App

The greatest App in the world!

The downside? Now I want a flippin' iPad!

And, well...

It's only the Light Lager.

No Dunkel.

And no pretzels either.

I Remember Them Days

You have to wonder if it was intentional, accidental or a useful by-product of something else.

Oh; sorry; you don't know what I am talking about, do you?

I just read this post over at Truth About Cars, and it hit a nerve. Basically, masculinity ain't what it used to be.

The question is, where did it go, and why? Was masculinity intentionally forced out of the American male; was it's demise an accident, and not an intended consequence, or is this new lack of masculinity something that will be happily accepted as as a by-product of some other nefarious scheme?

 It used to be the gender roles were pretty well assigned, and everybody knew their place. I don't mean that in a chauvinistic way, I mean that a man held a door for a woman; she accepted the courtesy and we all went home happy.

Then came Feminism. And what was once a courtesy became an insult.

So now what's a poor guy to do? Say you have two boxes to carry with a female co-worker. In the old days it was easy. YOU DIDN'T HAVE A FEMALE CO-WORKER!

Sorry; just kidding. In the old days it was easy. The man stacked the boxes and carried them both, chatted with the woman and handled opening the doors with his foot. It wasn't chauvinistic (the dreaded "C" word); it was masculine (the accursed "M" word).

Then came Feminism. Obviously, the man only carried one box; to do all of the work was the "C" word. Then it became more complex; do you carry the heavy box (damn "C" word again), or the light one? Do you see where, possibly incrementally, being masculine made you chauvinistic? But, the obvious choice- let her carry both boxes- was also seen as the dreaded "C" word.

And of course you still had some woman who considered you a neanderthal if you expected her to carry either box, or even open a few doors on the way. So, instead of a decisive, masculine, American Male, we became Wilbur Milquetoast, waiting for the woman to determine our next course of action, so we could avoid causing any offense to anyone.

This has become the default mode. Men went from getting haircuts to getting hair styles. Then came the facials. And now most males are considered Metro-sexual; feminine right down to their Manis and Pedis.

And cars have not helped; they have hurt. Once upon a time a Man spent a Saturday afternoon getting dirty. The car needed something done to it; oil change; grease job; tune-up; new bearings or bushings or brakes or bulbs. it was always something, and something you could do in the driveway.

Now checking the oil (never mind changing it) requires a factory trained service technician. Everything is covered up with a plastic shield, held down with a fastener you have never seen before, undone with a tool that is $49.95.

On Sale.

At Pep Boys.

Which is another damn thing. Auto Parts Houses used to be a bastion of masculinity. Now? Unicorn shaped danglely air fresheners instead of bins of lock washers and pink frou-frou floor mats and seat covers instead of creepers and jackstands. Oh they still carry creepers and jackstands. They just hide them in the back of the store, like their ashamed that they actually still are forced to sell actual, you know.... tools.

Sorry, but everything feminism has touched it has drained the masculinity out of; Auto Parts Houses are just one of them.

And now, apparently Lamborghini. No more testosterone fueled engine and steering wheel loosely coupled together by some low and sexy bodywork capable of screaming down a twisty two lane.

Now we have room for a couple of car seats and a DVD player for 'Lets Learn to POTTY!'.

Yep. Masculinity is dead.

Where Do We Go From Here?

This whole Trayon Martin situation is disturbing to me.

I don't understand how anybody can make a decision on who was right and who was wrong based solely on what they have been told by the media. And yet millions have done so.

And who was right and who was wrong hinges on so many little things we don't know.

the problem is, those points aren't making news; just things that will force a certain opinion are being promoted. Simply; we're being played.

Take the photo issue. The picture we are told is Mr. Martin is actually him at 13, not 17. Is that the most recent photo they have, or does it just portray him the way he is supposed to be portrayed- as fresh faced, small muscled kid?

And the descriptions of George Zimmerman as white. Never mind his Jewish father or Hispanic mother. Doesn't fit the narrative. So he becomes a white Hispanic. A what?

Then there is the 911 call about trailing Mr. Martin. Mr Zimmerman tells the dispatcher he is following Mr. Martin, and the dispatcher states that 'we don't need you to do that'. Media filters are saying the cops ordered him not to follow Mr. Martin. False; he is only told that the dispatch center doesn't 'need' Mr. Zimmerman to follow Mr. Martin. But having Mr. Zimmerman disregard police orders to follow Mr. Martin makes him appear very aggressive, which fits the narrative.

Here is what I think happened, based on the facts I have heard. Is this the truth? I have no way of knowing.

Mr. Zimmerman lives in a gated community that has had a few robberies lately. As a self appointed community watch captain he is patrolling the community with a legal firearm. He sees a stranger, dressed in the universal uniform of the troublemaker, and follows him to see what, if anything, he is up to. Mr. Martin objects to this, and confronts Mr. Zimmerman. we will probably never know what was said in this confrontation, but we do know Mr. Zimmerman wound up on his back at one point, and suffered a bloody nose and cuts to the back of his skull.

And Mr. Martin wound up dead.

The local police looked at all of the facts at the time this incident happened (a month ago), and concluded Mr. Zimmerman acted properly.

Slowly some additional information about Mr. Martin has come out, since the explosion of interest in the case pushed by the national race-baiter coalition. Mr. Martin has been suspended from school at least 3 times, the latest- and the reason he was in Sanford FL instead of his home in Miami- was 10 days for possession of a baggie with pot residue and a pot pipe.

So Mr. Martin is not the innocent lad with an ice tea a Skittles the narrative is meant to lead us to believe.

So what is my point?

The point is we can't try a case like this, or any case, in the court of public opinion. Media fails to provide all of the facts. Some through poor reporting, some through missing information, and some through pushing a narrative. I have no more interest in convicting Mr. Zimmerman than I do convicting Mr. Martin.

But I am curious as to why all of the interest in this case a month late.

And the complete lack of interest by the Media and the Sharpton crowd in the multiple deaths in the rest of the nation of young black men, killed by other young black men.

I guess Sharpton waited as long as he could for a cop to shoot a black teen, and had to settle for a neighborhood watch captain.

So, There I am, Minding My Own Business...

All it takes sometimes is a few minutes with nothing else to do.

So, just like in a Doctor's waiting room, you look for something to read.

So, it's off to do a few blogs.

And then you run into this.

Did you ever wish you could unsee something?

But that's not why I pulled this down from the Ethernet.

Read the comments, if you can. There is one comment that has to be read aloud for it to make any sense at all.

But, if you have a weird sense of humor, like mine, it will be worth it.

Buffs don't take off. They scare the ground away.

I know I haven't posted much lately (lots going on; sorry), but I had to post this.

Found through Instapundit this morning, this article is a must read for all us old SAC warriors.

The headline is a comment on the article that was too good to pass up.

Especially if you have ever watched a B-52 take off.

This video is a little long, but is great to watch multiple BUFF's 'scare the ground away'

Is that a !?!- At A WAL-MART?!?!?!

I had to stop by the local Wal-mart tonight to pick a few things, and as I was heading back to my car I happened to see what I initially thought was a new Chrysler.

Then I did a double take.

Yep.

its a Bentley.

A $285,000.00 Bentley.

Parked next to the cart rack.

It must be a rental.

To a recent lottery winner.

And I don't understand the picture. I know why the quality is so poor; iPhones ain't much in the night time photo department.

I just don't understand why it is rotated like it is. It showed up right when I edited it.

I'll blame that on the iPhone too.

We Are Not Our Grandparents

I saw this yesterday and couldn't resist posting it, with my thoughts.

This little cartoon says so much about our country today and how different we are from the recent past.

This was published Friday, the same day Herman Cain announced he was suspending his campaign, so it has lost some of its punch. But, what will next week bring?

Herman Cain is the quintessential populist Republican candidate. He has been there, done that in the business world, rose from solid lower middle class roots to success, and believes, like Jefferson, that the government that governs best, governs least. He understands, like Reagan, that government is not the solution, but the problem. He believes in the rights of the states to govern themselves.

And he is the only candidate, now that the establishment has run Sarah Palin out on a rail, with those convictions.

Now to our confused Klansman.

Herman Cain believes in almost everything the Southern White man does. Our cartoonist here (who is absolutely brilliant consistently, but also a Liberal) is under the impression that all Southern White men are members of the KKK (something probably true 50-80 years ago), who are now faced with the prospect of being forced to support a black man for President.

My take, despite the 'Personal Crisis Center' label, is that the KKK has mellowed to the point that even they can support a Black man for president, provided he has the proper character, and that we all have become 'post racial'.

Until the allegations of Sexual Harassment and then infidelity were broadcast, Cain had broad and deep support. he was quickly rising in the polls and threatened the heir-apparent, Romney. So he had to be stopped.

Unfortunately for Herman's reputation, he took awhile to get the message. First the anonymous charges. Herman wouldn't quit. Then the more specific charges, from a named individual. All of which were blared from every media outlet, constantly and loudly.

Herman wouldn't quit.

And then the charge of the 13 year affair; Herman has now suspended his candidacy.

If he hadn't, someone would have produced a 2 year old 'love child' for media consumption.

All in the course of modern dirty politics. If we can't find dirt in your past, we can always manufacture it.

Unless you are on our side. (See: Obama and Wright; Obama and Ayers; Obama ad nauseaum)

The comments under this comic lead me to this article.

We need more youth like this guy. Willing and able to investigate the truth behind the media/politically correct driven 'common knowledge', discover and disseminate the truth.

And you just know he is a Herman Cain supporter.

Today is Election Day

Right now it is 6:35, and the polls closed about a half hour ago.

So I decide to see who is winning.

Dems, across the board, by a 2 to one margin.

Not what I expected to see. So I look a little deeper.

The only county reporting is Fayette; downtown Lexington.

and the Dems are only winning by 2 to 1?

I think this will turn out to be a very good night!

What Went Right, and What Hasn't

Take a good look at this picture from 1974; close to 40 years ago.

Back when most of us were kids. Or young teens.

Two things that stand out to me. One is how tall this thing is.

The other is that the playground surface is blacktop.

Remember those days? Running, Playing, Climbing Swinging, FALLING on the blacktop playground?

We did it everyday. For hours. I'm sure kids got hurt. Skinned knees and elbows; maybe even a broken arm once in a while. It was how we learned our capabilities, and our limitations.

Can you imagine erecting a public playground like today? First it would cost an arm and a leg to manufacture and install. If you could get zoning approval. And I don't even want to think about the legal fees.

But by God it was fun and exciting. Part of the fun was the risk. Part of the learning was the pain. Play was always about learning about how to deal with situations that came up in daily life. Working through differences of opinion, gracious winning and how it felt to lose.

You learned these things when you were 5 and 6. You learned about yourself; where your talents were. And where they weren't. You learned who could be trusted to keep a bargain, and who couldn't. In those days you expected to stay within a few miles of where you grew up, and expected to be dealing with these same folks for the rest of your life. Everything I know about life I learned in kindergarten, right?

What are playgrounds like today? Everything is padded. Including the ground. Slides are enclosed, so you can't fall off and absolutely nothing to climb on that would put you more than a few feet off the ground.

And the helicopter parents; standing by to dust off butts and kiss any 'boo-boos' that the little darlin's might feel they got by falling 6 inches onto a rubber pad. And those are the 10 year-olds.

What kind of adults does this produce?

Three words:

'Occupy Wall Street'.

All I can hear when I hear an interview with one of those...... individuals is this:

"WAHHH! Mommy, life's not being FAIR!!!"

Sorry 'bout your luck kid. I found out life wasn't fair when I was 6, not 26.

By falling on a blacktop playground.