Harry Reid Says

That he has an unnamed source from Bain Capital who says Mitt Romney hasn't paid taxes in 10 years.

Wow.

You know what amazes me about this claim?

Romney has been the presumptive candidate for almost 2 years now. 2 years while Obama has been in charge of the IRS.

Do they really, I mean REALLY expect me to believe that if they had Romney on a 10 year Tax Evasion charge he wouldn't have been perp walked already across the White House lawn?

Or Obama not having Mitt do the perp walk out of professional courtesy? You know; from one tax cheat to another?

Face it; even the Dems don't believe the story. They are on a fishing expedition; trying to get a look at Romney's returns, so they can exploit the information any way they can. Everybody knows that.

Besides; there are other ways to defeat Reid's charges; Romney can authorize the IRS to release the information that he has paid all taxes due since his first reportable income, without releasing any numbers.

Or Romney offer to release every year that Obama, Reid and Pelosi release. There's a safe bet he won't need to release one.

It's all Democrat illusion. Can't run on HOPE and CHANGE any more; so lets have Obama run on his record!

Yeah well, his record of change is why we have no hope left.

They only thing they have left is making sure Obama's record isn't clearly seen.

I'll bey his slogan, to be unveiled at the Convention- the Convention every contested Democrat is avoiding like the Hall is full of quicksand- will be:

Smoke and Mirrors!

And even then, some idiots will buy it.

At least enough to vote for Obama again.

I May Have Become a Birther

Okay, what we have here is just... well; it's just.... indescribable.

I was scrolling around on The Borderline Sociopathic Blog For Boys this morning when I ran into this video. It is indescribable.


We have a video of a man doing a pole vault. Yeah I know its only 7 foot 2 inches- the world record is 20 feet, 1-3/4 inches for pole vaulting. Hell, the world record for the high jump is just a touch over 8 feet.

Neither of those guys was 90.

Yep; a 90 year old man doing a pole vault. How do you do that? Stay that limber and physical at that age? I am little over half his age, and nostalgic for when I could do things like that.

Hell, I never could do things like that. I tried, back in High School, but tripped over the damn pole.

At an age when his peers are worried about falling getting out of bed, if they CAN get out of bed, this man is pole vaulting.

Because of Saturday's post, I wanna see a birth certificate on this guy. I'll bet he's only 40, and has dyed his hair.

Romney and Ryan

Sounds like two brothers-in-law in a small town law firm doesn't it?

Romney's VP Pick is, in my opinion, the most important thing Romney will do in this election season. Done right, it will reunite the party and energize the base.

Done wrong, and a lot of voters will stay at home and sit on their hands instead of voting with them.

So, how did Romney do?

Well; I'm not sure.

Ryan is an asset, in that he is a budget driven. The cost of government is hurting the economy, and the bad economy is not creating jobs. Shrink the government and its tax and regulatory burdens, and the economy will create jobs. To those of us of a certain political leaning, these things are as basic as ABC/123.

The question is the independents. Will they see a shrinking of government as a good thing or a bad thing? Based on the polls I have seen, I think they will. Ryan is a plus here.

Typically, the VP is the insider; the one who knows there way around the Capital building and its denizens. Why do you think Obama saddled himself with Biden, or JFK with LBJ? Or even Reagan with Bush? McCain didn't need an insider; he was the insider. The insider won't help you get elected; the insider helps you get things done. Is Ryan enough of an insider to help Romney get things done?

He may be. He has been in positions of power in the Republican House, so it's possible. But with only 14 years in the House; is that enough time to have earned the control he will need? Well, Romney needs to win first; this point is a wait and see.

Usually the VP pick is an electoral strengthener; again, see Reagan and the Texan Bush. Ryan is from Wisconsin, which has been reliably Democratic in the past, but is seen as being 'in play' this election cycle.

Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes may not seem like much, but remember; Bush only beat Gore by 5 electoral votes. And making Wisconsin Red instead of Blue is a 20 vote shift. Will Wisconsin go Romney/Ryan? I think with Ryan on the ticket we can call Wisconsin for the Republicans. Definite Plus.

The Two White Guys Ticket. It sounds like a bad skit from the depths of SNL's worst years. Obama has already been hammering Romney with a charge of wanting to take the country back to the 1950's; there could be points for him in caricaturing Romney/Ryan as stuck in the past, or failing to see America is now fully integrated, and has millions of citizens who are people of color.

And Obama may do just that. It will play well to his base, but how well will it sit with the independents? Especially when Ryan is hammering home the need for a budget- HIS Budget- in the Federal government? It is the independents who will decide this election, just like 95% of the time. Unless we can create some Romney Democrats. Anything is possible; there are some Democrats who are waking to just how bad Obama has been. But will they vote for Romney? At this point I think they won't. But maybe Ryan can energize them?

Romney's team obviously has access to a lot of information I don't. Polling data in particular. They looked hard at quite a few capable individuals, prior to picking Paul Ryan. They would have considered all of the points I have talked about (plus a hundred more I could only guess at), and came up with Ryan as the best candidate.

I also think Paul Ryan has the Conservative 'street cred'  to cause the Conservative wing of the party to return to the fold by choice, and not by default. That will make a difference with fund raising and campaigning. Folks may have to vote for Romney- Obama ain't much as a real choice- but Ryan may make them WANT to vote for Romney. It may not seem like a big difference, but it is.

We'll all find out if Romney was right or not in 86 days.

Friday Night At The Movies IV

Last night I was looking for a movie on Netflix and found an old TV show instead; Highlander.

Its 20 years old now, but still interesting; the three episodes I watched last night held up well. My basic requirements were met; a good story, convincingly told.

In case you're not familiar with the premise of the movies and the TV show, our hero is Duncan McLeod; he is 400 years old, and one of a collection of immortals roaming the earth. There are good immortals, friends of his; and bad immortals, usually one an episode, who loses his head. Literally.

It seems you can kill an immortal, but the only way to make him stay dead is to cut off his head. So every immortal carries a sword with him- or her- everywhere. Just in case he happens to run into another immortal who needs to lose his head.

I know, stated like that it sounds cheesy, and could have been if handled differently. The shows I remember were always well done, and had the extra bonus- for me anyway- of telling the back story of the immortal that Duncan would meet in each episode, usually from a couple of hundred years ago, when the two immortals had first met. You can make a lot of friends (and enemies) in 400 years.

I remember the show ran in syndication on on Friday nights, about midnight. The kids were asleep, FINALLY, and the week was about to close. A good time for a little escapist fantasy TV.

Who hasn't thought about living forever? Other than the whole losing your head thing, it seemed like a good gig. Who cares if it takes 10 years to perfect a skill? What's 10 years out of 400 or so? Think of the things you could do in 400 years, especially if you were in your physical prime.

So last night me and the wife relived a little past. It wasn't like it was 20 years ago. The kids weren't asleep; they were out running around somewhere. And it wasn't 1:00 when were turned off the TV and went to bed; it was more like 10:30. Okay; it was 10:15. But in my defense, it had been a busy day.

So Highlander is now in my instant queue; all 119 episodes. So I figure I'm good for the next 2 years of Friday nights, assuming I live that long.

I'm not Immortal you know.

Cars I Have Known VI

There is a line in the beginning of the movie A Christmas Story where the Narrator describes his Dad; "Some men are Baptists; other Episcopalian. My Father was an Oldsmobile man."

When I was a kid my Dad was an Oldsmobile man. The first car of his I remember was a 3-way black 55 Olds 88 4 Door sedan. In 1964 we drove that car to Disneyland, from Cincinnati. That trip is an upcoming series of posts.

It was shortly after that that Dad bought a different car. It is my earliest memory of a new car. In 1965 he bought a '60 Olds Wagon. White, with a grey top and grey interior. Man; what a machine!

The Speedometer. Anyone who has ever ridden in a '60 Olds remembers the speedometer. Instead of a dial an needle, it had a straight line graph and bar that ran across the bottom. From 0 to 50 it was a green bar; when you hit 50, the bar turned orange, and at 70 it turned red; fascinating to watch when you're 5. My Grandma- Dad's Mom- always in the  back seat, passenger side, and would start hollering Slow Down; Slow Down when she saw the bar turn red. On the highway the bar was usually red.

And there is nothing like a big Oldsmobile for a smooth ride. I remember going to visit my aunt and uncle, down a gravel lane, and not feeling a bump. On the highway, it was living room smooth, except for when I was bouncing around in the back seat.

But it wasn't all roses. The Olds 371 big block was known for cracking heads. and so did ours. Dad was able to squeeze another week out of it while he found a replacement motor, and Friday night on the way home form grocery shopping he stop by the Tool Rental and picked up an engine crane. As we pulled into the driveway the motor died completely. we had to push it the next morning the last 70 feet into the garage. Dad worked on it all day Saturday, and finished it up Sunday afternoon, and Monday morning drove it to work. Ah; the good old days!

We ran that car for years; from '65-'70. by then it was showing its age, and Dad found a good deal on 1966 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon, and he sold the '60 to my uncle, who ran it another couple of years before the engine blew another head, and it went off to the rest home.

But I can tell you that car made an impression on me. I will always associate Big, Fast and Smooth with Oldsmobile, and in particular the 1960 Wagon.

The one in the picture was for sale not too long ago.

It sold for over $22,000. I guess I'm not the only one nostalgic for the old girl.

Nostalgia Ain't What It Used To Be

First; I have no idea why the picture isn't right side up. I changed it; saved it; reopened it, and it was right. I load it into Blogger, and it's wrong. Must be a Blogger thing.

At any rate, (oh yeah? how about 12 and a half percent? (Sorry; that's an old George Carlin joke I just can never resist)) the other night I had glass of New Wiedemann.

I made a special trip down to Newport to Pompilios, just for a cold glass of the old days. I wasn't the only one. The bar was packed, and I saw a lot of glasses with the New Wiedemann logo on them. You would recognize Pompilios, if you have ever seen Rainman. They filmed the scene where Raymond counts the toothpicks in the dining room just off the bar.

We finally got a spot at a table in the bar and I ordered the first glass of Wiedemann I have had in probably 6 years or more.

And I was disappointed. Kind of like the picture above; you could recognize it but it just wasn't right.

First sip told this was not a real Wiedemann. The beer I remember always started real smooth; ice water smooth, especially if the beer was real cold. This beer hit you with  flavor from the beginning. it was a strong flavor, and since I wasn't expecting it, it was a bad taste; almost skunky. Old Wiede-pop would always leave your tongue with a bite; like a flush of something bitter, that would fade faster than it came, and would disappear before the end of the second can. This beer finished flat; it kind of just ran off your tongue and disappeared.

It wasn't all bad; the beer was the right shade of pale, clear yellow, and wouldn't have developed a head if you shook it like a pair of hot dice; all old friends. New Wiedemann also had a different mouth feel; almost like it was a thicker brew, which is possible. It also left me with a dry mouth feeling after half a glass; something I never got with Old Wiedemann.

All in all; it was not a bad beer, just not the beer I was expecting. It also seemed a bit pricey; 5 bucks for the 20 ounce glass and $4 for the 16 ounce.

Back in the day, I could get a pitcher of Wiede-pop for 2 bucks, and a gallon to go- bring your own jug- for $3. Those were the days. a group of good friends, sitting around a fire out in the field, swigging cold Wiedemann from a gallon jug and watching the sparks from the fire rise to join the sky full of stars.

I was hoping Wiedemann's return would also bring back those nights too, I guess.

Maybe I was expecting too much from a couple of glasses of beer.

Well, You Start Here, and Then Go There, And Then...

I have blogged before about how one thing leads to another. Train of thought- pun intended. Well; I'm doing it again.

Today I was reading a legal description for a piece of property in Fayette County Kentucky, and part of the property ran along side of the tracks for the CNO & TP Railroad.

The what? I asked myself. What was the CNO & TP Railroad? Well, It is the Cincinnati- New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railroad. Formed in 1869, it is wholly owned by the City of Cincinnati. The only intercity railroad owned by a municipality. Ain't that a kick in the head? There is a lot more information at the link, But apparently the line has a certain amount of notoriety to rail buffs, or as they are sometimes called, Foamers. That is an interesting story in its own. Do an internet search for Railroad Foamer video.

But, I digress.

I was doing a little more searching, looking for more info on the CNO & TP RR (TP; Considering Cincinnati's Procter & Gamble, a TP railroad kinda makes sense) I found another page, NKY Images; full of hundreds of old pictures, including some on the now familiar CNO&TP RR.

Including one old newspaper article about a car on the railroad tracks of the CNO&TP. The things you can find on the internets!

What is really interesting about this article is that it talks about the horseless carriage killing the horse, and now it's setting its sites on the Iron Horse. That was truer that anybody in 1924 knew, I would suspect. Not that personal cars would soon rule the railroads, but there is a technology hidden under the hood of this vehicle that is 80 years ahead of its time for cars, and 30 years to early for the railroads. This thing is a hybrid.

And, it wasn't the first one. There is a hybrid manufacturer even older. Back to my old friend Jay Leno's Garage, and his Owen Magnetic.

This was the technology that did kill the Iron Horse Steam Locomotive. All modern locomotives are diesel electrics; the drive wheels are each driven by an electric motor, and the electricity is created by a diesel powered generator; just like in a modern hybrid, and in our early iron wheel automobile.

Another thing too, while I am on this newspaper article. I love the way it is written. If newspapers were written like this today they might still be making money. Which reminds me; the money line in the article: 'by an over enthusiastic devotee of Bacchus'.

The author used this line, knowing that most, if not all, of his readers would know who Bacchus was. I'll bet you could read this article to an honors English class in any high schools and they would not be able understand a significant portion of it.

Yet in 1924, this was puff piece.

Yeah; we have come a long way.

Nostalgia Road Trip Anyone?

You of course remember the other day, when I mentioned how sometimes the littlest thing sets off my nostalgia engine for things Air Force related?

Well, a mention of North Dakota is a previous post had me pulling up a Map of Lakota, ND. I have been to Lakota. I stopped there for snacks and soft drinks when ever i was in that part of the Missile Field. You kinda had to; there was no place else to stop for 30 miles in any direction.

Anyway, pulling up the map to see the distance between Grand Forks and Lakota had me checking the route; straight along Highway 2; right past Larimore.

I may have stopped in Lakota several times, but I spent almost every other weekend in Larimore for awhile. I had a friend who lived there, and we would spend either Friday or Saturday night at his place when we hit the local bars. If I remember correctly, at the time there were two in Larimore; The Red Dog Saloon (founded 1901) and the Larimore Improvement Association (The Imp). This was back in  '78-'79.

These two bars were next door to each other, and actually had a communicating door, so if you caused too much trouble in the one, they threw you out through the communicating door. Hell, it was 20 below outside; throwing a drunk out there was a death sentence.

The interenets is a wonderful thing. Larimore still exists. No surprise there. The Imp still exists too, as does the Red Dog. I remember the Red Dog as being on the south west corner of the main street- Towner Avenue- and The Imp being next door,  just to the south. Google Maps street view confirms my memory; right at the corner of West Front Street and Towner Avenue in downtown Larimore.

Who knew? So much has changed in the world in the last 30 some odd years. It's nice to know somethings have remained the same; right down to the PBR sign out front.

I wonder if a 30 hour road trip is too far for a couple of beers?

Cows a Threat to Homeland Security

I knew cows were a threat to our very existence. Well, at least according to the fringe Greens their flatulence is, but I never knew they would require the department of Homeland Security to track some down.

Here is one of those stories that just has to be blogged about; if you are a certain type of blogger.

I'm not sure what type of coverage this has been getting in the media; but my guess is none.

The Basics: An Individual Sovereignest owns 3000 acres near Lakota, North Dakota. some cows wander onto his property, and he refuses to return them, and allegedly runs the cops off at gun point. So they call in the nearest SWAT Team- from Grand Forks, some 60 miles away- who, with a warrant, asks the Department of Homeland Security to spy on the farm with a drone. They locate our hero/villain with the drone and bust in and arrest him. 

There is so much going on here that is not explained in the stories I have read. First; whose cows were they? Why did Rodney Brossart think he should be able to keep the cows? These two points alone would put a whole different spin on the case. Was this the first time or the fortieth that these cows have wandered on to his place? Did these cows possibly damage some crops or fencing that their owner was refusing to pay for? How many times were the cows owners warned to fix their fence and keep their livestock at home?

Or, did the law just show up one day, looking for some missing cows, and invited themselves, without a warrant, to look around Brossart's farm for them, and our hero/villain then had to resort to firearms to run the cops off his land? Do you see how this situation, well within the given fact pattern, makes the outcome look completely different? And we haven't even gotten to the drone use yet.

There is a whole lot more than going on here than is being talked about.

6 missing cows. Worth, what? $1,000-$1,500 each on the hoof? Say all 6 are worth $10,000. So this brings in the law. I can see it; for 10 grand. But again; what is the back story? Assume this is the first time they have wandered, assume the neighbor has asked for them to be returned, politely, and has been rebuffed with undue force. So he calls the law. So far in this scenario, our hero is a villain.

But, does anybody see a need for a SWAT Team and a Homeland Security drone? Let's say there was enough firepower on the farm to outgun the local police department. Back up, reinforcements maybe. But a SWAT Team? From outside the county?

Okay; lets assume the SWAT Team was necessary. Our villain has a history of attacks on police, or of just not playing well with others. Why is Homeland Security involved? Against an American Citizen, on his own land?

I'm sorry, this does not pass the smell test for me. There is more going on than is being reported on.

I also cannot condone the use of a Federal asset for enforcement of, at best, a very local issue. According to the article:

The SWAT team stormed in and arrested Brossart on charges of terrorizing a sheriff, theft, criminal mischief, and other charges, according to documents.

Which of these crimes is even a Federal crime, much less one Homeland Security should be involved in?

Personally, I believe like the expert quoted in the article:


While there's no precedent for the use of unmanned drones by law enforcement, John Villasenor, an expert on information gathering and drone use with the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution, says he'd be "floored" if the court throws the case out. Using a drone is no different than using a helicopter, he says.

I agree; the use of a drone is no different that the use of a helicopter. And if they had used a Homeland Security helicopter, instead of one owned by a local police force, I would still be concerned. It's not the equipment that is the problem; it's who owns the equipment that is twisting my knickers.

The drone did not - according to the article- find any evidence or help in the development of the charges against Mr. Brossart. All it did was locate him for a quick arrest, on local charges.

Explain to me how these 6 missing cows were a threat to the existence and safety of the country, and I'll change my mind. But for now, I think we have a NoDak hero, not a villain.

Friday Night at The Movies III

Okay; I kinda lied. Its Friday and Saturday Night at The Movies. Why? Because its my blog and I'll do as I please.

Okay; that's not strictly true either. The real reason is I couldn't make a decision on which movie to blog about, so I'm going to do both. Plus; they were short movies.

Friday night was Bob Hope and Bing Crosby- Road to Bali. Have you ever seen one of their Road pictures? If you have then you have seen them all.

Plot? A plot would have gotten in the way of the music and the gags. There is a loose story, but they never let a good gag get ruined by a possible story. Sight gags, slapstick, word play, no matter what you laugh at you will laugh at something in this movie. Always beautifully photographed, you could spend most of the movie just looking at the scenery.

A good way to spend an hour and a half some nasty evening.

Saturday night's movie was another Dukes of Hazzard lead in; Eat My Dust. Again, no real plot. A 17 year old kid steals a stock car off of a race track (an ORANGE one) to impress a girl, and they spend the rest of the movie running from the cops, who seem a bit inept. Sound familiar? One interesting bit is Ron Howard plays the thieving kid.

Released in 1976, it's a movie you need to be in the mood for. In the mood for a lot of engine noise and some running amok on the dirt roads in California? Yep; here's your movie. Character development and touchy-feelly garbage? See if you can find a copy of Kramer versus Kramer somewhere.

I also think I have used more words in this review that they actually used in the movie. They weren't real big on conversation. I also think I counted 117 separate and distinct uses of the word (phrase?) Yee-Haw.

Just like Road to Bali, I can think of worse ways to spend an hour and a half. One at the top of the list would be to watch Kramer versus Kramer.

All I Can Say is Ahhhhhhh....

I may have mentioned once or twice that I like to drink beer.

One of the beers I liked to drink was Wiedemann. I often proudly claimed I was a fourth generation Wiedemann drinker, and proudly raining a fifth.

And then they stopped brewing Wiedemann.

In the family the story is that my wife often told me that if I stopped drinking beer, the brewery would go bankrupt. In January of 2005 I decided it was time to stop drinking so much, and cut my consumption way back. In March of that year the Pittsburgh Brewing Co., the then current brewers of Wiedemann, filed for bankruptcy.

Wiedemann was the hometown beer. My Great- Grandparents settled in Newport, Kentucky in the 1870's, where Wiedemann was brewed. Great- Grandpa even drove a horse drawn delivery wagon for George himself in early part of last century, and quit when they took his horses away and tried to make him a truckdriver. But he still drank Wiedemann. As did his son and grandson, my Dad.

And my sons. My wife walked into the kitchen one day and caught my two oldest boys in front of the open refrigerator, with an open bottle of beer that they were sharing. They were 5 and 3 at the time.

Just the other day my son, who was three in the incident above, some 20- odd years ago, brought home a couple of bottles of Yuengling Beer. I have had a few bottles recently myself, as it is now sold just over the river in Ohio, and after the first taste he looked at me and said; 'Wow' tastes just like Wiedemann!'

Which it does; both beer share a very similar heritage.

Once Wiedemann disappeared from the shelves in 2005, I didn't have a beer. I had several I would drink, and many I would avoid, but didn't have one brand that was always in the fridge. At least until lately, when I have been finding Rolling Rock cheap in the 30 can pack. Coincidentally, Rolling Rock is also brewed by the Iron City Brewing Company, the successor out of Bankruptcy of Pittsburgh Brewing.

Well, the other day a friend of mind alerted me to the fact that Wiedemann is back! I can't wait to try a glass.

Another interesting story; the restaurant mentioned in the story is also an old family favorite, and the sign in the picture got me into trouble with a waitress there one day.

We were there for dinner in 2002 or so; after the Wiedemann brewery had closed in Newport, adn I asked for the Lasagna, as always, and a Wiedemann. 'Sir,' she says, 'we don't serve Wiedemann.'

So I retort, 'Your sign out front says you do!'

'Sir', says the waitress with a deadly look, 'that sign is 50 years old'.

I drank Ice Tea instead.

But next time I go to Pompillios, its the Lasagna and a cold draft Wiedemann.

If for no other reason, than for Dad.

Well, and I have missed Wiedemann.

So Long, Geoff Davis

I knew Representative Geoff Davis was retiring at the end of this term, and I am going to miss him. He was ending his 4th term, and that should be long enough for anybody in the cesspool. I think the only things that could spend longer than 8 years in a cesspool is the stuff you flush to a cesspool.

And yes Mitch McConnell, I'm talking about you.

Rep.Davis was always a reliable vote for common sense. He was a frequent caller on the morning show on 550, and his reports on the doings in Washington were always a breath of fresh air.

Except for once.

Right after Boenher raised the debt ceiling Geoff was on the morning show defending the action. He was doing it, but you could tell it was a distasteful duty. A few months afterward he announced his pending retirement,

The thing that has me concerned now is the euphemistic 'spending more time with his family' retirement. I seriously hope that if there is a family crisis, all works out for the best, and my thoughts are with the Davis Family.

Rep. Davis is an honorable man, and my most fervent hope is that there is an issue with his family, and that his sudden retirement isn't because of a pending action in the House that he wants no part of.