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.

Pssst; Wanna Buy a Cheap House?

The housing market is the last economic driver in this country.

Why? Because it is the only one they cannot ship offshore (although I am sure plans are in the works for Mexican house builders to ship completed sections north).

And why is that a problem?

Housing has not hit bottom yet, and may not for 3-5 more years.

Housing will soon only have the value that cash money can buy, as lenders will not lend long term on a depreciating asset, will they?

And housing is still depreciating; a fall that will only accelerate when the Federal money from Freddie and Fannie dries up completely.

And the bank owned homes will be the first to fall. A house to the owner is not an asset to be liquidated; it has a value as shelter that creates it's primary value. When the cost of that shelter becomes more than its worth, it becomes a drag on the budget, but never should it be considered an asset.

But the bank has to liquify the asset; they deal in liquidity, not in real estate.

And when the banks own a sizable percentage of the real estate, that liquidation will be costly to home values.

It was the idea of the last ten years to make your home an asset to be liquidated.

Re-fi and take the cash, right? Home Equity lines to pay for the trip to Disney World or pay off the credit cards that were run up at The Gap and Target; turn your Home into CASH.

And then interest rates rise a little, and housing values fall a little, and now your cash cow has dried up. Instead of being able to take another 10k out of your home to pay off the Visa, the bank is calling in your credit limit.

And so the bust began. To many leaks in the credit dike, and not enough fingers. Everybody who was strung out at the end of their credit line went bust.

Which was apparently quite a sizable percentage of the country.

If you have ever seen video of a sinkhole beginning and developing, that is the exact way the housing values are progressing. The houses that seemed safe at first are now starring down the abyss, and the guy next door is planning on taking a hit as well.

Home value is about two things; what someone will pay, and what someone will lend. A bank doesn't care what you are paying for the place; they will tell you what they will lend. if you can make up the difference, then everybody goes home happy. When you can't...

And values fall again.

You want to know when housing has hit bottom?

When the banks stop sitting on piles of liquidity, and start investing in mortgages.

Without Fannie and Freddie (READ: US Taxpayer) to bail them out.

Yeah; What He Said

This is the post I tried to write the other day.

I didn't write it today either, but this is exactly what I wanted to say.

And written better too.

The best phrase:

So, person to person, I don't know about you, but I'm weary of being ruled -- not governed, mind you; governed is in the rear-view mirror, and fading -- ruled by a gaggle of metrosexual car salesmen, slovenly ward heelers, and soi-disant intellectuals that can't operate an apostrophe, never mind something substantial and commendable like a dry cleaners or a brothel.

What Does The FUTURE Hold?

Saying we are screwed doesn't cover the half of it.

This crash should have happened in the 1960's, but was avoided by the Federal Government borrowing money and giving it away, as well as military and space race spending. That money went not just to Federal spending, but state, county and municipal grants to allow those entities, which, in most cases by law must have balanced budgets, to spend with a reckless abandon as well.

When it comes to employment in this country have you ever wonder where all of the jobs are? Right now we are looking at between 9% and 20% unemployment, based on whose figures you quote.

But between 1975 and 2005 how many women entered the workforce? The creation of the two income family also meant the creation of 25% more jobs than were available in the 1960's.

Where were almost all of these jobs created? Government. In 1975 1 person in 10 worked for a government at some level. Today it is closer to 1 in 4.

And government is paying for these jobs with taxes and borrowed money.

In one way I feel sorry for Obama. This crisis has been in the making for 70 years. The standard of living we have enjoyed has, for at least the last 50 years, been a product of government borrowing. And the hot potato that has been passed from administration to administration has now burned Obama's hands.

Well, I'd like to say tough S*%#.

But Obama isn't going to suffer; we are. Until this country can bring the cost of its labor into line with its worth, comparative to the rest of the world, we are not going to come out of this hole.

Wages are already stagnating and dropping. New hires are earning less than what similar positions were paid a year ago, and folks are happy to accept these lower amounts.

Housing prices are still dropping. Talk about a vicious cycle; Lenders aren't lending money on homes because the value of those homes still has not bottomed out, and housing prices are still falling because of the tight lending market. And lenders are slowing foreclosures because they already have massive portfolios of homes, some of which have not been marketed yet because to do so will only depress the market further.

The Feds have to stop borrowing.

But once they do, where will the money come from to pay for local civic improvements, wages for the multiple useless federal entities, or even pay the Social Security benefits seniors have earned?

And once those jobs dry up, what happens to the economy? As a libertarian I am waiting for the day I can celebrate the end of the EPA, the Department of Energy or the Department of Education. Right now would be a good time for ending the EPA; we need the freedom to create jobs that would allow and it would be a way to cut the federal budget.

Except we now have 18,000 more people out of work, defaulting on credit cards and mortgages and collecting unemployment and probably food stamps.

And that is just one example. What about the Department of Education (5,000 employees), or the Department of Energy (110,000 employees); want to see those folks added to the unemployment rolls?

YES!

And no.

We didn't get into this hole overnight. It took 70 years of incremental expansion of government to get where we are. And God help us it will take at least 30 years to resolve the mess.

And it ain't gonna be pretty.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae need to be severely restricted. They can become a lender of last resort, limited to maybe a guarantor of loans similar to what a VA loan is for veterans, and only if there is a surplus in the federal budget.

That will probably collapse the housing market further. But until housing finds it's bottom, the economy is not going to recover. And adding to the federal debt is just artificially creating a bottom. Government money distorts any market it is in.

The minimum wage needs to rescinded. Even if housing finds a bottom, unless wages are similarly returned to market rates without an artificial floor, jobs cannot return to this country.

Life is going to suck for quite a while.

I'm not looking forward to it.

but I am preparing for it just the same.

Saturday Morning; Eight A.M.

And where am I?

Sitting in a large, gradually filling auditorium.

Blogging from my iPhone.

What could have drug me from the comforts of home?

Hold on to your hats:

A dance recital.

Yeah, I have trouble believing it too.

But, it is for the Young'un.

So, here I am.

This is just the dress rehearsal; the show is tonight. And I don't even know what time this hint kicks off this morning. I might be here for hours. This would have been unthinkable for any of my boys. But for the Young'un, here I am.

To be fair, when her Dad an Uncles were her age I was working most Saturday mornings, and glad of it. Money was tight in those days. It's still tight, but loose enough to allow a Saturday dance recital.

I'll catch up on my sleep later.